ASICS x Helen Kirkum

As part of ASICS ‘Crafts for Minds’ series, this third entry in the collection asked London based designer Helen Kirkum to create a custom collection featuring 30 pairs of GEL-1090™ sneakers. Designed with the planet in mind, Helen reconstructed each pair using dead stock and post-consumer waste including recycled soles, repurposed laces and torn apart uppers to create truly one-of-a-kind versions of the classic GEL-1090™ sneaker.

The shoes will be sold online by NAKED CPH with the proceeds going to Right To Play, an international organization that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above adversity using the power of sports and play. The organization believes sport and play prevent mental health conditions from worsening and help children continue to develop emotionally, socially, and cognitively – even under the toughest conditions.

Marije Dippel, director at Right To Play The Netherlands: ‘We are very happy with the support of ASICS through the Crafts for Mind activity. We share the same mission to nurture the mental and physical health of people through sports, including for children growing up in the most difficult places in this world. ASICS’s commitment to help us empower these children using the power of play is remarkable.’

Helen Kirkum: ‘Taking inspiration from the idea of running routes and how we create routes in our lives, to give us routine, to make us feel safe, to make us feel grounded.’ Kirkum has worked to redefine our relationship with shoes since she first came on to the scene, having collaborated with the likes of YEEZY, Adidas and Nike already. Her speciality is the creation of shoes from post-consumer waste and the emphasis on giving discarded product a new life while creating a personal connection between the shoe and the owner. For this collaboration, Kirkum brought deadstock Asics 1090s together with post-consumer waste to create a deeply personal product that speaks to how we as humans present ourselves to the world.

The limited collection by Helen Kirkum is available from February 25 2022, 11 am CET by NAKED CPH with all sales going to Right To Play.

The thirty hand-detailed shoes are in US sizes 5-13, with one unique colorway per size. The shoes are considered art pieces, and because of their delicacy can get damaged more easily while wearing. To be worn at your own risk. Due to the characteristics of the material, there is a possibility of color transfer, fading and odor when it comes in contact with other materials.

© ASICS x Helen Kirkum.