Typically, footwear collaborations involve two brands. On special occasions, a third partner is brought to the fold, each offering their own input on the final product. For its upcoming “Tomo” project, Japanese athletic company Asics is upping the collaboration ante by tapping seven retailers to contribute on one of the brand’s newest Sportstyle reissues.
The Asics Gel-Gumulus 16 “Tomo” is a joint project with Concepts, Extra Butter, Feature, Lapstone & Hammer, Somewhere, Sneaker Politics and The Whitaker Group. Known collectively within Asics as Tomo (Japanese for “friend”) accounts, the seven stores are some of Asics’ top retail partners. Representatives from each retailer gathered at Asics’ U.S. headquarters in Boston for a meeting of the minds which resulted in the brand’s first-ever collaboration boasting more than two partners.
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The final product is the “Tomo” Gel-Cumulus 16, which features a Cream/Malachite Green colorway that’s adorned with metallic silver synthetic overlays and reflective mesh underlays. The Asics tiger stripes are given a mood ring-inspired gradient fade from green to purple, which also colors the midsole’s visible Gel cushioning. Metal shoelace aglets give the pair an elevated feel, while a Kanji character translating to “friend” appears on the left tongue.
“We are excited to finally unveil the ‘Tomo’ Gel-Cumulus 16 silhouette, a project that has been in development for over a year and a half. Each of our partners featured in the collaboration played a pivotal role in the design process and in bringing this unique shoe to life,” Kelly Fatouretchi, senior director of merchandising at Asics, said in a press release.
The Gel-Cumulus 16 model was originally released in 2014 and was reissued by Asics in August with new contemporary colorways. Thus far, aside from the upcoming “Tomo” release, the Gel-Cumulus 16 has been released in collaboration with Cecilie Bahnsen.
The Asics Gel-Cumulus 16 “Tomo” will be released Sept. 27 online and in-store exclusively from the seven retailers involved in the project and from asics.com. Pricing is set at $170.