If you tried to collate all of BEAMS' various collaborations — and not even its in-house collections — into a single text, it'd be impossible. There's a reason that Rizzoli has done several separate BEAMS books, after all.
And it's not like BEAMS' collabs ever slow down. Somehow, after dropping special Birkenstocks, New Balances, Salomons, Mizunos, and BEAMS Plus x END., BEAMS somehow has room for more exclusive stuff.
After issuing a set of waterproof sneakers a while back, BEAMS is back with ASICS for a remixed GEL-Kayano that is easily one of the Japanese retailer's wildest shoes to date.
So, first things first: why did BEAMS attach a mosquito net to the GEL-Kayano? Primarily, because of a Japanese pun.
Puns are an inherent part of the Japanese language, to the extent that numerous articles have been written about Japanese number puns alone. Such is the case when you have a consonant-based alphabet.
Here, BEAMS toys with "Kaya" (蚊帳), the Japanese word for mosquito nets. It's one "no" (の) away from being Kayano, and that's basically it. I suppose there's further crossover in the core tech that fuels the GEL-Kayano and the historical "tech" of Japanese mosquito nets, too.
Either way, the end result is a pretty funky-looking sneaker. You can remove the mosquito net to make it look a little more normal, though, thanks to snaps around the toebox.
With it attached, Fidlock straps and pull-tab closure allows the wearer to keep the netting snug around their feet. So long as they're also wearing tall socks and pants, the shoes oughta keep you entirely safe from bug bites.
The ¥31,900 (approximately $230) ASICS GEL-Kayano sneakers are dropping on October 1 via BEAMS' website, accompanied by a full GORE-TEX sport suit and hat essential for granting the wearer complete protection from autumn showers.
