ASICS & doublet Turn Sneakers Into Cardboard & Cardboard Boxes Into Sneakers
Everything is not as it seems with the doublet x ASICS GEL-KAYANO 20: the sneakers look like cardboard and the cardboard shoe box turns into a sneaker. (It's confusing, I know, but stick with me.)
Starting with the actual GEL-KAYANO 20 sneaker, the retro running shoe is crafted from material by Tyvek (a company specializing in fabric for protective apparel and consumer applications) and designed to not only recreate the feel of cardboard but also age in a way that cardboard would.
Looking closely at the upper of this shoe — its slightly rippled texture and jagged edges — it’s hard to believe this isn’t a real cardboard sneaker. And in case you’re scratching your head wondering exactly what a cardboard sneaker looks like, doublet and ASICS have created one.
The cardboard shoe box in which this collaborative GEL-KAYANO 20 arrives has instructions printed on it so you can create a real cardboard model out of your new sneaker.
ASICS and doublet’s dedication to the theme of a cardboard box turned sneaker can only be applauded.
"The idea and idea of the collaboration was to show one color and one material, which is totally opposite of the use of multicolor and different kinds of material approaches that were used for existing GEL-KAYANO," doublet’s founder Masayuki Ino, previously told Highsnobiety.
"Existing GEL-KAYANOs consist of so many parts and pieces filled with some kind of graphic. Based on this concept, I developed the idea of sneakers with a shoebox pattern coming out from a shoebox. The waste material is sublimated into a brilliant piece of art."
This sneaker was first revealed during doublet’s Fall/Winter 2024 show before an exclusive pre-release at a pop-up shop during Paris Fashion Week this June. Now, they are finally being made available to shop worldwide, releasing on November 16 for $225.
In a time when sneaker releases are a daily occurrence, creating something truly novel is difficult. However, cardboard box sneakers? Yeah, that fits the bill of a genuinely unique sneaker concept.
