KENZO By Nigo Embarks On Inaugural ASICS Collaboration With A Wild GEL-Kayano 20 Trio

The Japanese fashion legend brings a fresh take on this performance runner.

staff January 26th, 2024 (updated)

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Kenzo is finally making their way into the sneaker game, with an official ASICS collaboration just around the corner. A three pair pack is already midway through their release, having launched via an online raffle just days ago, but a widespread retail drop is coming this Friday.

Over the course of three colorways on the GEL-Kayano 20, this collab covers plenty of ground- some more understated than others. The first, a white and orange pair, spotlights the trademark tiger imagery of the brand on a suede upper, but is lowkey in its design outside of that. In similar fashion, the blue and green configuration keeps constant the focus on the animal print, but goes in a more bold direction color-wise. Finally, the last of the bunch bears a ton of pop in mosaic fashion, with a colorful array intended to evoke international themes. From Kenzo themselves, they’re centered around the “concept of travel,” pulling colors from national flags.

This is both the first collaboration between Kenzo and Asics, and the first sneaker released with an outside brand since he took over as artistic director. It follows the in-house KENZO-DOME in terms of the imprint’s footwear, but also crucially comes on the heels of the very public unveiling of Nigo x Nike at the Kenzo FW24 show last week. Though word of their partnership first broke in April of last year, discussion has certainly heated up in the wake of that moment, possibly signaling product from that collection on the horizon. Either way, both the release of the KENZO x ASICS and the potential Nike collab point towards a massive 2024 for the former Bape head.

As stated earlier, pairs of these have already started circulating- but their release in earnest is just a few days away. Each of the Kenzo flagship stores will be releasing these in-person on Friday, January 26th, with “select retailers” also receiving stock on the same day.