Turning Up the Weirdness on ASICS’s Bizarre Backless Dad Shoe
Kiko Kostadinov's Novalis diffusion line is bringing back the ASICS Novalis Gel-Styrax mule. And it’s looking wilder and weirder than ever.
Coming in new vibrant orange and electric blue colorways, the kind-of-woven, mesh-like clogs are a sight to behold, if nothing else.
For experienced mule lovers only, this from-the-future slip-on contains an array of ASICS’ advanced features for innovative comfort and performance.
The bulky sole unit, for instance, includes a carved-out hole in the heel designed for extra cushioning similar to a Nike Air Max.
Meanwhile, on the upper, the Japanese activewear brand made sure to emblazon these laceless sneakers with a webbed criss-cross pattern that veers away from ASICS' usual sporty path. It generates an argyle-like pattern, the kind of thing you'd expect to find decorating a tie.
Being ASICS, though, this shoe's still got that dad shoe DNA in it somewhere.
With its almost alien-hovercraft-reminding silhouette, the $260 ASICS Novalis Gel-Styrax falls more in line with other spacey offerings like those extraterrestrial Nikes, or the chrome Dr. Martens, less so its own ballerina-inspired sibling.
But who knows? Somebody might be doing pirouettes in these somewhere… on another planet, that is.
Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit the HS Style Guide for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.
