Issey Miyake x ASICS is the Futuristic Tech Sneaker That Stole the Show
The creative universe of Issey Miyake is one of those rare things that bring true joy to fashion lovers. The garments are always surprising, colorful, and imbued with a sense of imaginative ease. I’ll admit it: in a parallel life, I’d be more than content wearing Issey Miyake head to toe every single day. But there’s one thing the legendary Japanese brand has typically lacked—something essential to any self-respecting fashion aficionado: great sneakers. Footwear, and especially sneakers, has never been a major focus for the house. Until now.
At the recent Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the house which prided itself upon pleats turned heads with a surprising debut—an entire lineup of ultra-cool sneakers, created in collaboration with fellow Japanese icon ASICS.
If you dig through the archives, you’ll find that Issey Miyake has dabbled in footwear before—always with an avant-garde spin. There was a futuristic shoe with United Nude, and a leather sandal crafted with Hender Scheme. As for the sneaker world, Miyake himself designed a pair for Puma back in the ’90s. And just last year, two years after his passing, the brand launched its first official sneaker collab—with New Balance.
Still, sports shoes are a rare sight in Issey Miyake’s general collections, including the widely loved Homme Plissé menswear line. But last Thursday in Paris, we witnessed a new chapter for the label: IM Men—the spiritual successor to Homme Plissé. Launched in Tokyo in 2021, this line is developed by the Miyake Design Studio team and carries forward the mission of making accessible, functional garments rooted in creativity, ingenuity, and discovery.
This season’s collection drew inspiration from the work of 20th-century Japanese ceramicist Shoji Kamoda, resulting in architectural silhouettes infused with a curious, organic futurism and an explosion of color. And under all that clay-inspired fashion? A wild surprise: specially designed ASICS sneakers that looked like some surreal hybrid of rock-climbing slippers, football boots, and Power Rangers espadrilles.
What’s more, these shoes mark the launch of Issey Miyake Foot—a new footwear design platform overseen jointly by Miyake Design Studio and ASICS. And these aren’t just any sneakers. In fact, they’re not really sneakers at all, but rather a high-concept, tech-laden creation packed with intriguing details.
The midsole is constructed from a synthetic leather with a plasticky texture, while the overlays contrast with a softer, matte-yet-shiny finish. The base? Technical mesh. ASICS’ iconic side stripes are reimagined as dynamic tape strips—resembling athletic bandaging—wrapping the foot both functionally and decoratively. In fact, this strapping system isn’t just for show: it’s the shoe’s actual closure mechanism, with no traditional laces in sight.
Dubbed Hyper Taping, this bold hybrid design sits somewhere between a technical sneaker, a lightweight boot, and a trail shoe, blending minimalism with sci-fi retrofuturism. And when Miyake’s flair for fabric innovation meets ASICS’ sporting tech, comfort is pretty much a guarantee. That experimental, conceptual, and athletic look? Just an added bonus.
For now, three colorways have been revealed. The most eye-catching? A neon green version with electric blue and orange accents. The others are more subdued: one in monochrome grey, the other in all-black. Release dates and pricing are still under wraps, but one thing’s clear: Japanese fashion’s collaborative streak is alive and well, and it’s producing some of the most fascinating gear out there.
First published on revistagq.com
