Mary Jane shoes have been enjoying a little renaissance recently and a new collaboration between Heaven by Marc Jacobs, Kiko Kostadinov, and ASICS fully highlights the classic shoe’s range.
Heaven and Kiko's sneaker collaboration might have resulted in the busiest (but still Y2K-stylish) pair of ASICS you’ve likely seen but they're, at the very least, an interesting addition to Kostadinov’s ASICS oeuvre. At the most, they're the world's first dad shoe Mary Janes. And that's saying something.
This is only the second time Kostadinov and Heaven by Marc Jacobs have collaborated and yet, the whole thing, from shoe to campaign images, is a total vibe.
It’s gritty and girly, the vibe illustrated by campaign images of a young woman riding the subway and cuddling with a rat or looking bemusedly confident in the middle of an empty, brightly lit Times Square. This is the kind of person who needs Heaven and Kostadinov's GEL-LOKROS ASICS Mary Janes.
The entire collection is rooted in trend history but also, thanks to Kostadinov’s vision, looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
Let’s start from the bottom, literally, with the wild ASICS sneakers at the core of it all.
The sole is packed with ASICS' GEL tech for comfort and a little bounce. It then works into a quilted upper with embroidered stars throughout, with rubber accents for durability and let’s just be honest, vibe. This is a city sneaker but also a ballet flat but also a dad shoe but also none but also all of the above.
The real drama comes from what might as well be a bajillion thin straps that seemingly have a mind of their own, overlaying each other but still pulling off a clean look. The Mary Jane sneaker comes in black and gray, light blue and silver, and a lavender and pink-ish pair, overall the perfect shoe for an edgy, all-night Manhattan fever dream.
Kostadinov’s vision for footwear is very clear: functional, future-forward, and right on the “is this kind of ugly or is ugly because it’s art” line.
When paired with Kostadinov’s other ASICS, specifically a black and silver trainer from the ASICS subbrand, Novalis, that he oversees.
It looks like something from The Fifth Element and these quilted Mary Jane ASICS feel like a natural progression of that type of vision from the London-based menswear designer.
His other ASICS collabs all have this same sort of vibe, even if some are a little brighter and airier than this Mary Jane.
On Instagram, fans of both Kostadinov and Heaven by Marc Jacobs are clearly stoked for the February 22 release of the shoe and printed graphic collection at large, as you'd expect. This collab might be under the Heaven by Marc Jacobs and ASICS umbrellas but it’s most definitely Kostadinov’s show.
Who else could pull off such a techy, Mary Jane with some edge to it? More of all that, please.
