The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 298 — Riding the Asics wave 🌊

Asics is having a run right now. Let's get you in on it.

Jul 24, 2023

Gooooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning.

HOUSEKEEPING: First, it’s mailbag time! I cannot believe July is already over, folks. We’re creeping up on that final Friday of the month. Submit your questions for the July KYW Mailbag here.

Second, the Kicks You Wear will be out from August 4 to August 11. I’ll miss y’all, but I’ll be back before you know it!

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Let’s jump in.

Asics is on a run

pair of white-and-purple Asics sneakers — *Photo by Hipkicks on Unsplash*

Asics is on quite the run right now. Kith’s latest X-Men Asics collab has the excitement at a fever pitch. You’d be hard-pressed to find a brand having a better 2023.

Between the lines: Asics’ history in sneaker culture runs deep, but it’s a niche brand. And for a lot of people, these collaborations that we’re seeing have only served as an introduction. I know some of you here fall into that category.

So I’m here to help: This is a guide for those of you who might be interested in jumping on the bandwagon.

This isn’t me telling you what to buy or how to wear these sneakers. I’m only here to get you hip. You can take the rest from there.

A quick background: Let’s begin here. Asics began in 1949 as Onitsuka founded by its namesake, Kihachiro Onitsuka. It was your quintessential sports brand based in Japan.

It made basketball shoes, runners, you name it. They had it.
Fun fact: Onitsuka designed the Nike Cortez. There’s a fascinating backstory to it that comes with lots of legal drama. Here’s more from Sneaker Freaker.

The company became Asics in 1977. The name is an acronym stemming from the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano,” which translates to “a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

What popped Asics off in North America was its Gel technology. The Gel cushioning we see in the Gel-Lyte series was originally created as a competitor to Nike’s Air technology with the Air Max. Everyone was searching for answers to it. Gel was Asics’. It was a pretty good one, too. That’s why it’s still here today.

Dive deeper: Here’s a more complete history of Asics’ climb from Grailed.

Let me put you on: Now that that’s out the way, let’s talk about what you’re really here for. The sneakers. If you’re just beginning to dive into Asics, this is the section you care about.

I did my best to pair different silhouettes with different vibes and styles here:

If you like Nike’s Air: Then you should absolutely try the Gel-Lyte III, Gel-Lyte V or Gel-Kayano 14. The Gel cushioning is pretty spectacular and comfortable. The III and the V also both give that late 80s and 90s running aesthetic folks love.
If you’re into 80s basketball: Try the Ex89. Though this is a vintage-basketball style sneaker, it is a newer style for the brand. It’s got an Adidas Forum vibe to it, but it feels more contemporary. There are also lots of colors to choose from.
If you’re into the normcore dad vibes: Then you should take a look at the Gel-1130, GT-2160, or Gel-NYC. The New Balance vibes are strong in these. I’d particularly recommend the 1130 because it’s the cheapest option out of all of these. It also might be my favorite Asics silhouette. Lots of good collabs with it.
If you’re into Gorpcore: You should give the Gel-Sonoma a shot. It’s extremely versatile coming in both high-top and low-cut variations. Lots of colors.

There are plenty of options to choose from here. If you’re feeling hypebeasty, there are also a number of collabs you can pick from, too. Kith just had the most recent, obviously, with the X-Men drop, but there’s plenty more where that came from.

The big picture: At the top of the year, we talked about the “other” brands that have been making waves in mainstream sneaker culture. Hoka, Salomon, New Balance and more. In 2023, I don’t think any niche brand has been better than Asics.

But, overall, with so many options available to us, it’s just a great time to be a sneakerhead. Enjoy this while we have it, y’all.

Keep an eye on UPS

The retail industry is on pins and needles watching UPS’ negotiations with the Teamsters Union.

Where we’re at: The two sides are in the midst of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement for UPS workers and there’s a legitimate chance that the company’s 340,000 employee workforce could go on strike when the deal expires on August 1.

The union has already negotiated scrapping a two-tier wage system and getting air conditioning in employees’ trucks. Wild that wasn’t a thing already, btw.
But…there’s a snag in negotiations with UPS seemingly being unwilling to include a pay raise for part-time employees in the new contract.

Negotiations appear to be coming down to the wire this week and things are not close.

What that means: A strike is looming. The retail industry is terrified of that — for good reason, too. It’s not ready for it.

UPS reportedly handles 25 percent of packages shipped in the United States. Even a small shutdown breaks the supply chain — again.
A study from the Anderson Economic Group estimates a 10-day work stoppage could cost the economy over $7 billion with $4 billion of that coming from consumers.

And that’s just retail. I haven’t even mentioned the thousands of folks who use UPS for essentials like medicine and other healthcare needs. The company plays a tremendous role in so many people’s everyday lives.

UPS has to acquiesce here. The workers have the leverage. E-commerce runs the economy. There’s no combination of shipping companies that can pick up the slack.

Plus, the company has the money. A pay increase for part timers isn’t unreasonable — especially considering the work the company’s workforce did during the pandemic. Here’s more from the NYT.

The Teamsters have cited the risks its members took to help generate the company’s strong pandemic-era performance as a reason that they deserve large raises. UPS’s adjusted net income rose more than 70 percent between 2019 and last year, to over $11 billion.

This strike is avoidable. But only if UPS recognizes that and makes a deal happen. If the company doesn’t? Whew, boy. We’re all in for a mess.

Adidas got one

It looks like, amid all of the mess with Kanye West and Yeezy, Adidas might have found something that actually works really well.

What’s happening: The Adidas Crazy Infinity drops later this week and folks actually seem to be excited about it judging by reactions on social media. I can’t blame them. The shoe does look really good.

The background:

Most of you probably know this, but the Crazy Infinity is a futuristic version of the Kobe 1 — Kobe’s first boxy signature shoe with Adidas.
People hated these shoes back when they first dropped. They don’t even care about them in their retro form, which is why it’s surprising folks care about these.

There are some subtle differences here that make the shoe better. It’s boxy, yes, but the upper comes with a zip-up shroud that adds a bit of character to it. The shape also looks slightly different.

Whatever differences Adidas has made here have worked and, honestly, that’s what matters most.

This is a big deal: After the Yeezy downfall, it was clear that Adidas needed to start over and find something to build a new foundation on. Something that didn’t require the company to work through someone else like a Kanye or a Beyoncé. This feels like it could be that.

For the first time in a long time, people are excited about a non-Yeezy Adidas sneaker that isn’t another collaboration. That’s something you can build on. And it looks like the brand will moving forward.

The Powerpuff Girls Dunks are weird

This has got to be the weirdest shoe of 2023. As a Powerpuff Girls fan, I was excited to see that there were some PPG Dunks coming. What I wasn’t excited to see, though, was that the shoes could actually see me back.

Whose idea was it to put these damn eyes here? What in the world, y’all?