To create its new retro running-infused sneaker, it sounds like the Kiko Kostadinov Studio and ASICS SportStyle development team went down quite the research rabbit hole.

The new ASICS UB7-S GT-2160 sneaker draws inspiration from a variety of places, including themes of interlaced assemblages, functional utopias, and mino ceramics.​​ (I would love to see the mood boards on the walls of ASICS offices when this sneaker was being cooked up.) 

The shoe uses ASICS' classic GT-2160 model as its base, a sneaker the Kiko Kostadinov studio has worked on previously, and transforms it primarily through a thick grid-like pattern (this is, according to ASICS, one element of the sneaker to be inspired by functional utopias).

While this aesthetic upgrade isn’t as maximalist as the bulky sneakers Kiko cooks up through his ASICS Novalis sub-line, it does take a classic old-school running shoe to experimental territory. Especially when decked out in black and yellow.

Akin to the hyped Nike Air Max TN Bumblebee but with a more extreme yellow and black color scheme, one version of the sneaker has bold yellow crisscrossed netting, amplifying the new fabric construction delivered by the Kiko Kostadinov Studio.

Together with a second colorway — a mix of white, blue, and orange hues — the 'bumblebee' ASICS UB7-S GT-2160 will be released via ASICS Australia on August 23 and is expected to see a worldwide release later this month. 

Kiko Kostadinov and ASICS have treated us to six years of excellent sneakers since they first linked up in 2018. What began as a simple collaboration has grown to become its own sub-line while the Kiko Kostadinov Studio has an in-house role at ASICS — the two are a formidable force.

And they refuse to slow down with the collaborative projects: a wild pair of Kiko x ASICS sneaker mules are also expected to be released in the very near future.