Adidas or Nike? The divisive, hot-button debate topic spawning insults, comparisons, questionable smirks, and the occasional comradery continues to lose steam every season. Although the two giants dominate the footwear spectrum, brands traditionally less popular in the United States continue rising to cultural relevancy instead of a bronze third place trophy. Brands constantly float through brief popularity spurs while reacting to current industry interests. I don’t think K-Swiss' recent push in the sneaker world will ever thoroughly intrigue me, but I can't stop thinking about Asics’ advancements over the past decade encompassing interesting collaborations, innovations and sways in public opinion. The brand’s athletic roots and semi-popularity aren’t exceedingly rare, countless brands dwell in the mediocrity doldrums for varying periods of sneaker purgatory. But, the company’s actions over the past decade repositioned it as one of the quintessential, in-the-know sneaker brands of the moment when it could have easily fallen back to relative obscurity after its initial push. Asics’ current uptick can’t be traced to its Olympic pedigree or "Kill Bill" cameo. The brands definitive separation between Asics and Onitsuka Tiger clearly places models like the Mexico 66 and Ultimate 81 far from the frontline. (Thank god. Those were attached to some dude with a faux hawk and cut-off chino shorts.) The man commonly associated with the brand’s initial resurgence, Ronnie Fieg, undoubtedly pushed the brand into an excited, viable consumer base with his string of successful collaborations. Fieg heavily favored the Gel-Lyte III with its iconic split tongue and the GT-II, using both models frequently for his sell-out projects. The timespan surrounding Fieg’s work and Asics’ modern rise is my absolute favorite. I was never a massive fan of matching joggers and five-panel hats, but the outfit defined an era filled with artsy, heavily edited on-foot sneaker photos that commonly featured rain puddles and mid-jump still frames for some bizarre reason. But, I like to think we had to survive the locust swarm of grown men showcasing their sneakers with pinrolled jeans and embrace the biblical suffering for the brand to move forward. In regards to the shoes’ construction, Fieg’s use of exotic materials like pigskin suede definitely triggered a movement in shoe design and material selection. It’s hard to coin a new colorway, but the man has several to his name. He deserves credit for bringing salmon and rose gold to the sneaker lexicon - I think he used it before Apple. Fieg’s Asics plunder eventually cooled off, but the brand’s mainline remained strong as fashion tilted away from Karmaloop hauls and wooden watches to phrases like “techwear” and “dad shoes”. Asics’ reliance on turbo-charged retros faded as fashion enthusiasts adopted modern options. Popular retros still release on a regular basis including models like the Gel Mai, and Kayano 5, but none as successful as their new counterparts. Consumers’ overt obsession with 90s models can quickly lead to stale releases, but I’ve always admired Asics’ general releases for the superb designs and phenomenal colorways - absolutely the best mainline sneaker colors on the market – and its work is culminating together at the perfect time. Chunky retro runners still fill store shelves, but sleek, athletic-looking, slightly nonchalant but overtly technical options are clearly a heavy favorite. With consumer's interest correlating with brand releases, Asics' recent popularity indicates a strong resurgence distinct from Fieg’s reign. With collaborations featuring Kiko Kostadinov, Awake NY, Vivienne Westwood and Affix Works, the stage is set for a continued rise with a focus on the future. The pastel suedes and rope laces featured heavily in Fieg's early work just looks out of place in a realm dominated by mesh panels and abnormally shaped soles. For the first time in brand history, Asics let a collaborator, Kostadinov, create new performance tooling for a project. Unfortunately, we may not see the new shoes paired with a corresponding five panel and pinrolled Levi’s, a sad loss but a greater gain
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AuthorMax Theriot Archives
November 2019
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