Asics knows its lane. The Japanese sportswear label has made its bones on techy performance runners, often with mesh uppers and reflective detailing, and many of its best sneaker collaborations are built on that foundation: JJJJound made perhaps the ultimate version of the 2000s-era Gel-Kayano 14; Thom Browne recently put his signature sartorial touch on the same model; and Kiko Kostandinov often offers up a freaky, futuristic spin on Asics’s bread-and-butter aesthetic. Which is why the brand’s latest linkup with the London minimalists at Studio Nicholson feels like such a massive departure.
Where the duo’s first collab—2024’s blacked-out iteration of the Gel-Quantum 360 VIII—hewed more closely to the standard Asics formula, this one heads ambitiously in a brand-new direction. Built on the Gel-Kinetic SP, with its bulbous, HR Giger-esque soles, Studio Nicholson has fully reimagined the silhouette’s uppers in smooth monotone suede with a zip closure running up the center.
Courtesy of Studio Nicholson
Courtesy of Studio Nicholson
Available in both a truffle brown and simple black, the result looks and feels more like a dress boot than an athletic trainer, thanks especially to the lack of any real external markings (both brands’ logos are only visible when the shoe is unzipped). All in all, it’s about as luxurious and tasteful as a sneaker collab can get—and paints a bold new way forward for future Asics partnerships.
Courtesy of Studio Nicholson
Courtesy of Studio Nicholson