After a decade of partnership, Australian shop Highs And Lows and Japanese brand ASICS unveil a promising new collaboration. Led by HAL STUDIOS, the GEL-1130 silhouette sports an exclusive « maximum minimalist » look.
Highs And Lows opened a new chapter in 2021 with the launch of the HAL STUDIOS creative house. Founded by Matthew Thomas and designer/creative director John Bouquet, the multi-faceted studio is dedicated to examining design concepts. HAL Studio embodies the « Design Thinking » approach to questioning and problem solving, with an ongoing conversation, series of studies and collaborative projects.
HAL STUDIOS reinvented the GEL-1130 with a « maximum minimalism » approach. Matthew Thomas and John Bouquet redesigned the classic asics silhouette to be devoid of traditional sneaker features and aesthetics. The partners emphasized the retro-futuristic look and shape of the archival running shoe with beautiful materials and harmonious colors. The latter are inspired by natural earth tones.
The shoe consists of a grey breathable mesh upper complemented by brown and deep green suede and faux leather overlays. The iconic Tiger Stripes are dressed in brown hairy suede and feature a discreet embroidered white asics logo. Continuing with the reduced brandings, HAL and STUDIO appear on separate clear TPU labels, one on the left heel and the other on the right heel. The co-branding adorns the faux cuir insole in a subtle way. In the white midsole, HAL STUDIO retained the TRUSTIC support system and GEL cushioning technology that provides shock absorption. The look and feel are finalized with a deep green performance gum outsole.
To further blur the line between athletic performance and lifestyle-leisure, the pair comes with 3 sets of laces to ensure the best stylish matches.
The HAL STUDIOS x asics GEL-1130 will be released on April 14, 2022 on halstudios.net. It will then be available on April 23, 2022 at select retailers and on asics.com. To make sure you don’t miss out, you can sign up for the HAL STUDIOS mailing list now.
