Oxford gives the definition of a sneaker as "a soft shoe with a rubber sole." By that definition, I'm not actually sure that we can accurately describe AIREI's collaborative ASICS shoes as "sneakers" anymore because their once-soft uppers have been caked in stiff, dense plaster.
We've seen distressed sneakers before, we've seen glue-coated shoes before, but sneakers that look more like a ganache-coated cake than, well, sneakers? Yeah, that's novel.
AIREI's is ostensibly repurposing the ASICS GT-2160 running sneaker here though it may as well be literally any ASICS dad shoe, given how little you can actually see beneath the dense plaster coating.
But, in line with the transformative themes of AIREI's Fall/Winter 2023 collection, these collaborative ASICS are actually intended to be worn — the idea is that they'll crack over time, revealing a wear pattern unique to each wearer.
Only 50 handmade and individually numbered pairs of AIREI's conceptual ASICS GT-2160 sneaker will ever be released, each pair retailing for €180 (about $200) with proceeds benefitting the Right To Play non-profit.
AIREI's wild shoes are the latest offering from ASICS Crafts for Minds, an experimental program that invites artists to transform ASICS' sneakers into veritable artwork for the feet.
Previous iterations included Florence Tétier's handmade sneaker jewelry, (di)vision's upcycled trainers, and Dennis Buck's goopy, painted kicks.
Not that the prior creations have much bearing on AIREI's output. The young Los Angeles-based brand has always gone its own way.
Consider AIREI's antipathetic perspective on the fashion industry: While the biz demands constant newness, AIREI emphasizes patient, slow craft. Whereas fashion Photoshops away imperfections, AIREI sees variance as a feature, not a flaw.
AIREI's ASICS collaboration epitomizes this approach.
"I've always loved the human touch and I really felt that it was missing from contemporary fashion," AIREI founder Drew Curry told Highsnobiety in 2022. He described a desire to create garments that bore the human touch of their creator and wearer alike, visibly shaped by fabrication, time, and use.
"I wanted to make something that felt really fragile, more ephemeral. Like, this is a chore coat but this chore coat is going to fall apart in your hands."
In this case, swap "sneakers" for chore coat and you get the picture. If you can call them sneakers at all, that is.
