He’s the designer responsible for the funky and colourful new sneakers from Asics Sportstyle.
When Asics Sportstyle released its GEL-MIQRUM sneaker collection several months back, it was a breath of fresh air. Yet, the design itself wasn’t a brand new silhouette — it was a tribute to a style that is dear to the brand decades ago. The GEL-MIQRUM sported a chunky silhouette with a layered construction. The upper part of the sneaker is made with a sturdy mesh base, contrasted by no-sew panels in retro colours. To top it off, we see both men’s and women’s variants available in a multitude of funky colourways.
But of course, we’re talking about Asics here. There’s no way the Japanese sportswear brand would create a sneaker just for form without function. The GEL-MIQRUM is fitted with the brand’s iconic GEL technology, providing the soles with extra cushioning for you to go the extra mile.
Don’t just hear it from us. Hear it from the designer himself, Yasuyuki Takada. The Asics Senior Footwear Designer shared his thoughts with us on the GEL-MIQRUM’s design, its inspiration from the 90s, and whether there will be more colourways available in future collections.
We took inspiration from the design language of the GEL-QUANTUM INFINITY shoe and the GEL-QUANTUM INFINITY JIN sneaker to form a lifestyle offering that is loaded with GEL technology-based cushioning in the heel. This dynamic design is rendered with a lifestyle aesthetic that incorporates the trusted technology and components that our consumer has become familiar with, keeping the functionality intact without having a requirement for performance sports.
The season was all about futuristic optimism and technology. We balanced the basic core colour of white with the cool feeling of silver, enhancing its futuristic aspect. The black and pink incorporate our seasonal direction of cyberpunk aesthetic which is attention-grabbing across digital platforms.
Another important strategy and mood for the season is the gorpcore colour and earthy future colour. The primary colours form unexpected harmonies of colours between nature and earthy-like tones like the vibrant yellow and sunrise red colourway.
GEL-MIQRUM has a nostalgic retro vibe while being a visible technology from a performance perspective. It’s different from the performance that has sharpened everything, and we are combining performance and retro with optimism as the key to shoes targeted for lifestyle wear. We do not see these shoes created to be a new trend, but to increase sneaker choices among the wide array of street style fashion.
There will be more colour variations for Spring/Summer 2021, so do watch out for it!
