Japanese sportswear brand ASICS has recently announced its multi-season partnership with Kiko Kostadinov, London-based menswear designer brand. Kiko Kostadinov, who’s also the first designer brand who collaborated with ASICS for the release of the GEL-BURZ 1 in the spring of 2018, will be working in tandem with ASICS designers, advising and curating on a new line within ASICS Sportstyle – with his first release, the UB1-S GEL-KAYANO™ 14 (see below), launching this November.
The initial collaboration between ASICS and Kiko Kostadinov has so far birthed ten models, where each silhouette has added their own visual identity and language to the collection, whilst utilising ASICS state-of-the-art technologies i.e. FLYTEFOAM™ and GUIDANCE LINE™ blurring the lines between performance-wear and fashion.
The newly announced multi-season partnership will see the Kiko Kostadinov design team advising ASICS for the coming multiple seasons, on the development of the new silhouettes and on explorations of materiality and colour, building on the already existing qualities offered within the ASICS Sportstyle umbrella. The product will no longer be co-branded, but rather will use a distinct signifier symbolising the new initiative. The development is a testament to Kiko Kostadinov’s importance to ASICS, which has seen the design team’s vision inform and inspire other elements of the wider ASICS collections.
This new chapter is a watershed moment for ASICS and in turn, signals their expansion into a fashion-forward landscape. By evolving the relationship from a collaboration into something more symbiotic, the Kostadinov universe will merge with the DNA of ASICS Sportstyle – conceiving new styles and ideas that honour the heritage, values and innovation of ASICS, operating at the intersect of style and performance wear.
Let’s stay tuned for the first release within this initiative, the UB1-S GEL-KAYANO™ 14, which will be launching in November 2020. This model is a cornerstone of ASICS technological development, has seen a strong, continued popularity over the years and is the perfect silhouette to signify the new direction of Sportstyle.
Read also: The All-New ASICS Sportstyle GEL-MIQRUM is Engineered for Everyday Wear
