The Japanese streetball inspired brand BALLAHOLIC and ASICS present us a new collaborative capsule. After reworking the GEL-Quantum 180 silhouette last year, the 2 Japanese labels are coming together for the 2nd time to offer us a special GEL-1130 and GLIDE NOVA FF 2, as well as a matching apparel collection.
True to BALLAHOLIC’s inspiration, these exclusive products are all about basketball.
The GEL-1130 features a look that pays homage to BALLAHOLIC’s HOMECOURT private basketball court construction project. This initiative started from the lack of public playgrounds in Japan. The brand then connected with other basketball lovers and started to build private courts in their homes.
The color scheme chosen to reimagine the GEL-1130 corresponds to the different stages of playground construction : first the hands in concrete, then in paint.
The shoe consists of a concrete grey mesh base with Tigers Stripes and cream leather overlays on the forefoot. The heels are adorned with mismatched colored overlays, green or blue with red or yellow upper details respectively. To affirm the theme, the left insole is presented in orange beige and the right insole in brick red. The combination of these hues is reminiscent of the paints used to personalize private grounds. BALLAHOLIC branding on one foot and the asics “a” logo on the other completes the design. An off-white midsole and blue outsole add the finishing touch.
The GLIDE NOVA FF 2 features Asphalt Roots EHIME, a basketball school led by the ballaholic KOSUKE. While the COVID epidemic forced the school to close its gym, KOSUKE had the idea to continue to have his students play outside, and more specifically under the local bridge. This initiative allowed the young people to continue to practice this passion sport and to have a few hours of joy, good mood and improvement, without thinking about the problems related to the pandemic.
The shoe has a look that refers to this improvised basketball place and its environment. The grey base matches the asphalt and pillars, and its black-brown inserts recall the color of the players’ shirts after lying in the dirt during hard-fought games. The sole is presented in a combination of 2 shades of blue and green. The light blue evokes the sky, sweat and tears. The dark blue symbolizes the falling night and rain during games and the green pays homage to nature and the trees visible near the bridge. The orange color used on one of the additional lace sets refers to the sun, lights and energy in general. The simplified meaning of these different colors adorns the back of the right heel and the words “BALL-STREET-LIFE-HANDLE” are found on the back of the left heel. Tongue tags with partner brandings and BALLAHOLIC applied to the quarter panel in place of the traditional Tigers Stripes finalize the design.
These pairs will be released along with a co-branded apparel collection. It includes shorts and jerseys, short and long sleeve t-shirts, as well as socks and a basketball.
The Ballaholic x asics collection will be released exclusively on August 27, 2022 at the BALLAHOLIC store in Tokyo Shibuya, before being available online at ballaholic.jp a day later on August 28, 2022. Prices are set at $95 (¥13000) for the GEL-1130 and $110 (¥15000) for the GLIDE NOVA FF 2.
