There were two big talking points after Cecilie Bahnsen’s Fall Winter 2024 show: One was a huge apple plonked in the middle of the runway that towered over the models. The other was the continuation of the designer’s longstanding, and very impressive, ASICS collaboration.
The Danish designer's latest move sees her take on ASICS' Gel Terrain sneaker, a model that borrows technology from ASICS' vast trail running archive.
With its no-sew upper and technical fabrics, the Gel Terrain is normally a pretty utilitarian-looking shoe. But with Cecilie Bahnsen’s version, things are a bit different.
Presented in both brown and black, the sneaker has been decorated with 3-dimensional flowers that are dotted all around its upper. At the hands of Bahnsen, the outdoor-focused sneaker has been given a whimsical update.
Flowers are a motif that's central to almost everything Cecilie Bahnsen does. Other items from the FW24 show — which was titled “The Bite” — included full-length trench coats, knitted sweaters, and satin dresses all similarly decorated with fabric flowers.
And this isn’t the first time that the designer has given ASICS the flowery treatment, previous exploits have seen full panels of ASICS shoes obscured by a green flower arrangement and floral shapes added to a pair of sneakers turned Mary Janes.
With every collaboration that Cecilie Bahnsen's released with ASICS over the past couple of years, she has taken the Japanese brand’s sporty DNA and manipulated it into something eccentric.
Far beyond just choosing a colorway or a custom fabric, the designer has consistently given full-scale changes to the shape of ASICS shoes or added new elements in the form of carefully constructed 3-D ornamentation.
This has made Bahnsen a standout name amongst ASICS' many collaborators and her latest outing (which is expected to be released later this year) is a continuation of good form.
