Yes, doublet's ASICS Sneakers Are Meant to Look like Cardboard (EXCLUSIVE)
doublet's Masayuki Ino admits that he hadn't worn ASICS in a long time before his partnership with the Japanese sneaker brand. Now, as Doublet's first ASICS sneaker nears its launch, Ino says, "I like sneakers even more than before."
At the top of the year during its Fall/Winter 2024 show, doublet debuted its ASICS sneaker, a tonal brown GEL-KAYANO 20 busy with, well, doublet energy.
After headless tracksuits and literal bat sandals, Ino again asked the million-dollar doublet question when tasked with the GEL-KAYANO 20: how to make something perfectly normal into something totally new?
And thus, the ASICS x doublet GEL-NIMBUS 10.1 “LEATHER?” was born.
"The idea and idea of the collaboration was to show one color and one material, which is totally opposite of the use of multicolor and different kinds of material approaches that were used for existing GEL-KAYANO," Ino said to us.
"Existing GEL-KAYANOs consist of so many parts and pieces filled with some kind of graphic. Based on this concept, I developed the idea of sneakers with a shoebox pattern coming out from a shoebox. The waste material is sublimated into a brilliant piece of art."
You may not be able to keep Masayuki Ino in a box, but doublet's sneaker? Maybe. When worn over time, Doublet's ASICS shoes will eventually present a new texture similar to, well, a box.
"One of the interesting elements is you can enjoy the sneaker's change over time. Our collaboration sneaker is made of Tyvek," says Ino. "As the sneakers are worn daily or exposed to the sun, they gradually change the material and texture to look like a real carton box. I really like the realistic feeling and the process of this change."
Doublet's ASICS GEL-KAYAN0 20 sneakers recently returned to Paris Fashion Week this June, making an appearance at an ASICS pop-up event.
At the pop-up, the shoes will be available for an exclusive pre-launch on June 22 retailing for €250 (around $270). The global launch of the shoe will be later this year.
Alongside the shoebox-inspired GEL-KAYAN0 20 model, doublet is also showcasing surprise, custom GEL-NIMBUS 10.1 sneakers. Limited to only 20 pairs, the sneakers are blanketed in cow leather and sprayed by flocky processing.
We're still waiting for more release details regarding the GEL-KAYANO 20 sneakers but Ino is already thinking about his future with ASICS: "I look forward to seeing what happens next!"
