ASICS Is Turning Slippers Into Streetwear
ASICS' Life Walker shoes are in a realm of their own. In a competition for the comfiest types of shoes to wear, there are two styles that I would always place in the highest spots: slippers and sneakers, and ASICS' Life Walker are a bit of both.
Cushioned athletic shoes and cozy house shoes both provide best-in-class comfort for footwear.
Now, the Japanese label ASICS (which is already a proprietor of some of the most comfortable sneakers around) has managed to mesh together both footwear styles into one.
ASICS' Life Walker has a thin shape and slip-on functionality that you’d expect to see from an elderly relative's house shoes, and that’s no coincidence — one Amazon Japan listing for the shoes describes them as: “Men's Senior Generation Health Care Nursing Shoes.”
However, at a time when slip-on sneakers are more popular than ever and slippers are slowly becoming an accepted piece of outdoor attire, it’s not just senior citizens who are enjoying the lace-free practicality of the ASICS Life Walker.
The shoe has slowly been making its way onto my Instagram Explore Page recently, peaking my interest and initiating a research journey that bore little fruit.
On ASICS’ website, the shoe can only be found in its Japanese webstore (with most sizes sold out) and Kickscrew is the only third-party retailer outside of Japan that seems to sell the ASICS Life Walker — however, again, there are limited sizes available.
Beyond those online listings, there’s nothing else that can easily be found about the ASICS Life Walker online, it has an impressively low-key online presence.
Considering how ASICS is rarely out of the sneaker news cycle, it's surprising that these unconventional sneakers have managed to fly so low under the radar. They deserve far more attention.
So, this is my formal request for ASICS Japan to stop gatekeeping the Life Walker — the sneaker-slipper hybrid we never knew we needed.
