When ASICS launched its new NEOCURVE™ project, there was one question on the brand’s mind: can we create something new from what we’d otherwise throw away? In other words, the brand built its mission around a circular economy, where unused and unwanted materials could be transformed into something new. That something? ASICS SportStyle’s newly-unveiled NEOCURVE™ sneaker. Thankfully, it amounts to much more than the pile of rubbish it’s made from.
Merging ASICS heritage with cutting-edge innovation – in-keeping with the spirit of the future-facing Japanese brand – the sleek shoe is designed in collaboration with the Dutch design house Studio Hagel, remixing elements of the shoe company’s archive. “We always wanted to innovate, but at the same time stay true to the brand,” says the creative director of Studio Hagel, Mathieu Hagelaars.
This meant diving into 35 years of ASICS catalogues, then using new techniques and materials to push what they found to new heights. The result is a retro-futurist style inspired by the streamlined vehicles of Salt Flats speed racing, with a distinctive wave design, metallic finish, and a colourway that evokes early Y2K techwear.
The NEOCURVE™ sneaker builds on old ASICS shoes in a more literal sense, too – that’s where the circular economy comes in. To get the materials used to construct it, the brand basically plundered its own rubbish bins, grinding up deadstock and defective shoes in partnership with the Netherlands-based recycling company Fast Feet Grinded, for a more sustainable shoe that doesn’t sacrifice any of the quality or comfort it’s known for.
This novel manufacturing process comes as part of a broader push by ASICS to localise production and reduce CO2 emissions, which can be traced back to its foundational philosophy: “Anima Sana In Corpore Sano.” (In English: “A sound mind, in a sound body.”) Having championed this idea for decades, via sport’s vital connection to mental wellbeing, the brand notes that environmental crises have brought both physical and mental welfare under threat. Any future effort to improve our own health will necessarily require a commitment to the health of our planet as well.
“We wanted to create a circular economy in which people can enjoy sports and fashion with as little burden on the environment as possible,” says Hidetoshi Muraoka, head of circular economy projects at ASICS Corporation. “This sneaker takes a stand, proving that materials can have a second life.”