Posted on 29 Sep By Visionarism
Foot Locker has partnered up with ASICSTIGER and pioneering creatives Visionarism to unveil their exclusive new HyperGEL‐LYTE and HyperGEL‐KAN models today.
Led by Visionarism co-founders, Thierry Tek and Ste Wing, the new collection merges Visionarism’s modern “urban ninja” concept with a sumi stroke art approach inspired by ASICSTIGER’s Japanese heritage. The collection will be launched at Foot Locker as the latest in its line of collaboration exclusives that champion creative expression.
With limited pairs produced, the latest additions to the HyperGEL series has been released to the public on August 18th, available both at footlocker.eu and at select Foot Locker stores across Europe.
The 12-month design journey took the Visionarism duo to Foot Locker’s home turf in New York to learn more about the retailer’s history, the streets of Tokyo to draw inspiration from local culture and traditions, before meeting with the footwear designer and development team at the global ASICS headquarters in Kobe to make their sneaker vision a reality.
HyperGEL technology is renowned for its superior comfort and cushioning. As the next evolution in the HyperGEL series, the HyperGEL-LYTE perfectly preserves the iconic design elements of the classical GEL-LYTE (inspired by the 1980’s running silhouette) in an even more comfortable and lightweight design using ASICS’ new HyperGEL midsole technology. As the middle-cut version in the series, the HyperGEL-KAN deploys an external heel counter to hold the foot, reducing impact and preserving energy for improved comfort, endurance and movement.
Commenting on the new HyperGEL series, Francesco Brandi, VP Buying – Footwear, Foot Locker Europe, says: “Foot Locker is incredibly proud to be part of the collaboration for the exclusive ASICSTIGER HyperGEL collection, curated by Visionarism. This partnership is a great example of how Foot Locker continues to push the boundaries of sneaker culture by bringing likeminded brands and the sneaker community together, and we’re excited to see it finally hit our shelves.”
Björn Hamacher, Vice President Marketing, ASICS, adds: “HyperGEL-LYTE and HyperGEL‐KAN are a new look for ASICSTIGER and we are proud to introduce two silhouettes that perfectly balance a unique aesthetic design with the roots of ASICS heritage and modern technology. We are thrilled to launch these new silhouettes exclusively with our partners at Foot Locker Europe and Visionarism.”
On Visionarism’s partnership with ASICSTIGER, Thierry Tek, Co-founder and Managing Director, and Ste Wing, Co-founder and Creative Director, Visionarism, comment: “We wanted to contribute to the sneaker community by creating ASICS silhouettes that represent us and our culture. We’re so grateful for being able to see our vision come to life at Foot Locker and this project is the proof that if you work hard, and always swing for the fences, anything is possible.”
The Visionarism x ASICSTIGER HyperGEL collection is now available exclusively on footlocker.eu and at select Foot Locker stores across Europe.
All images by @Visionarism.
