In an overheated sneaker market, all means are good to get noticed: adding a drop of blood in the sole like Lil Nas X and his “Satan Shoes” Nike, daring to have ugly or falsely destroyed shoes like Balenciaga…
In this year 2024, Asics had another idea to generate buzz around its sneakers, by once again partnering with the American firm Airei to reinvent its Gel-Quantum Kinetic. The result of this collaboration: sneakers that you will need to set on fire before wearing them!
Asics x Airei, a collaboration for a good cause
Many are the sneakerheads who are looking for “the hottest pair of the moment”. In other words, the most desirable model. In this month of March 2024, there’s no need to look far: the 30 pairs of sneakers Asics x Airei launched on February 29 sold out in a few minutes and are now being resold for more than 10 times their price!
In the summer of 2023, Asics and Airei had already managed to make a name for themselves at Paris Fashion Week. The two brands had then unveiled a very special edition of the GT-2160: the 50 pairs created for the occasion were indeed covered in plaster. A simple desire to create buzz or a genuine artistic approach to send a message? Probably a bit of both, as the proceeds from the sale of this first pair were donated to the Right to Play organization.
This time, Asics and Airei transform the “simple” pair of shoes into a contemporary work of art… but always inviting the public to reflect on the human condition.
Gel-Quantum Kinetic sneakers, all fire, all flame
So, it’s not the Fashion Week that serves as the backdrop for the launch of the new sneakers designed by Asics and Airei, but the Felix Art Fair, a contemporary art event organized yearly in Los Angeles.
Thought of as “an ode to the indomitable spirit that resides in all of us”, the Gel-Quantum Kinetic are entirely crafted in khadi gauze, a fabric made without electricity in Eastern India. Rather than a traditional box, the shoes are presented in packaging made of the same fabric, making it impossible to wear these sneakers without setting them on fire.
Airei explains that it’s a way to allow the wearer to “participate in the process”. The American brand goes even further in its explanation, specifying that “the flames symbolize immersion in a noble cause, the shoe fabrics bearing scars that remind us of the challenges each of us must overcome”. Once the gauze is consumed, the shoe regains slightly more traditional lines, allowing one to glimpse Asics’ emblematic stripes.
The 30 pairs of Airei x Asics Gel-Quantum Kinetic sneakers were sold exclusively at Dover Street Market in Los Angeles, on February 29, 2024. A few minutes were (of course) sufficient for all pairs to find buyers. And while the initial price was set at $265, offers climbed up to $2700 on resale sites like StockX. A rush that suggests this second collaboration between Airei and Asics won’t be the last.
