ASICS has a philosophy of design that takes into account tried and tested measures of functionality and combines that with evolutionary foresight. The designer of the GEL-LYTE™ XXX sneaker, Ryota Kitami, has incorporated upper elements from Mitsui’s original model and modernized it with mixed materials and a more contemporary aesthetic. This makes the GEL-LYTE™ XXX sneaker special because it embodies ASICS’s past whilst connecting it to the present.
Kitami, thinking back at the design process of the GEL-LYTE™ XXX shoe, explains, “I talked directly to Mitsui-san, and learned that each one of the shoe parts had its own story, and about his belief in designing the shoe. I started by understanding all the construction of each of the parts of GEL-LYTE™ III model, and I tried to develop Mitsui-san’s belief into a present form”.