Studio Nicholson's ASICS GEL Quantum 360 VIII sneaker is as refined as anything in the British brand's imminently wearable arsenal. Who could be surprised?

ASICS makes sense as Studio Nicholson's debut sportswear collaboration, given the pair's shared Japanese inclinations — ASICS is literally Japanese while Studio Nicholson is so stylistically indebted to Japan that it's released several Japan-made lines and its initial sneaker offering was produced by Kurume-based Moonstar.

But Studio Nicholson x ASICS is a bit more to the point. This is sport meets luxury, finery of the finest sort but also for the feet.

Highsnobiety received the first look at the shoe, which also premiered on Studio Nicholson's Instagram page prior to the full reveal ahead of summer.

The Studio Nicholson x ASICS GEL Quantum 360 VIII shoe epitomizes the tenets at the core of each partner. On ASICS' end, you have a sublimely sporty running shoe laden with integrated tech, from the reactive sole unit to the breathable mesh upper.

But Studio Nicholson uplifts the humble sneaker with leather lining — er, leather lines, which sit in place of the typical ASICS logo and transform the shoe from runner to luxury object. It's a tastefully understated acknowledgement of designer Nick Wakeman's stylistic ethos: quietly indulgent accents that only the wearer might notice, buoying a sum total that is itself unquestionably stylish.

This is how Studio Nicholson took an all-black ASICS sneaker from staid to sumptuous, so much so that it's only offered in a limited run of 100 pairs.

Shoes rendered in all-black or "Triple Black," in sneaker parlance, are often too subtle to stand out to anyone besides the obsessives who collect these things. There's also the risk of creating a sneaker so simple, so bereft of color, that it blends into the wallpaper of society, like a slip-resistant service shoe.

Studio Nicholson's ASICS sneaker sidesteps this with textural aplomb, complementing the dappled sheen on the mesh against the matte glint of leather and rubber.

It's quietly thoughtful stuff like this that separates the aesthetic auteurs from the would-bes and never-rans — that Studio Nicholson can demonstrate this skill so cannily with a sneaker alone is testament to its mastery of the game.