For Gel-Lyte III’s 30th anniversary, ASICS had collaborated with 30 Southeast Asian artists as a tribute to the legendary designer, Shigeyuki Mitsui, who made the silhouette of the iconic shoe.
We’re shinning the spotlight on the 8 young creative Malaysians who were picked by ASICS to create their own iteration of the Gel-Lyte III on a blank sneaker “canvas”. These emerging artists come from a variety of backgrounds such as graffiti artists, a food stylist, fashion designers, and more. Check out the talented artists and their designs here:
1. Cassey Gan (fashion designer) @casseygan
“The theme for these ASICS GEL-LYTE III shoes is ‘Rain or Shine.’ As the name suggests, come rain or shine, life goes on and everyone should make the most out of it with optimism. I designed the shoes by sticking pieces of the prints and painting certain parts to give a textural difference.”
2. Cloakwork (graffiti artist & illustrator) @cloakwork
“Known for my work in street art, I explored the form of graffiti and illustration with dynamism and movement. My work is a clear representation of myself: bold, daring and fearless. I always remind myself to give back to the streets by making plain concrete more vibrant with my graffiti. That will be my legacy.”
3. Elanor Lim (designer & stylist) @elliholi
“Using the same concept of ‘free spirit’, I strongly believe in being given the freedom to create, to let my strokes tell stories. The design embodies those strokes, full of colours and varying shapes. It’s also meant to resemble paint splatters, similar to how an artist’s apron would look like after a day at their studio, evidence that they had been painting the entire day.”
4. Francisca Turner (accessories & home décor designer) @frankitas
“I drew inspiration from traditional ethnic textiles that are rich in heritage and history made by local artisans in Asia and turned it into a contemporary style shoe design with a subtle hint of a masculine touch.”
5. Joy Chong (photographer & stationary enthusiast) @joychong
“My ASICS GEL-LYTE™III design takes inspiration from my love of journaling and combines it with abstract brush strokes and sprays in pastel colours. I decided to imitate the organic rips of my washi tape and the natural strokes of a paint brush to finish this piece.”
6. Kenji Chai (graffiti artist) @mr_kenjichai
“For my ASICS GEL-LYTE™ III shoe design, I drew inspiration from my signature art Chaigo by infusing its colours onto the shoe and illustrating him in a samurai suit for the sockliner.”
7. Shiyo Joo (makeup artist) @shiyojoo
“As a renowned makeup artist, I believe creativity has no limits. For this shoe design, I drew inspiration from my work by applying the art of makeup (usually drawn on faces) onto shoes for the very first time by using eyeliner, lipstick and eyeshadow.”
8. Trisha Toh (food stylist & photographer) @trishates
“In my design for this collaboration, I’ve thought of how I could break the cycle of food waste which coincides with my general philosophy of using what I have around me to the best of its capabilities and embracing imperfections, as there is beauty in everything.
Going slightly against the grain, I chose the process of stitching/gluing dehydrated excess fruits to become fruit leathers and dye using colours deriving from natural elements such as turmeric. Although this design is unconventional, like the GEL-LYTE™ III, it’s the constant experimentation and a bit of rule-breaking that would make this overall project fun. At the end of the day, who says we can’t play with food?”
In conjunction with the collaboration, ASICS is releasing two new colourways for the Gel-Lyte III in Green and Purple.
