It feels like Asics spent a long time as observers when the collaborative craze kicked off. The PROPER crew did an incredible job on their 2007 GT-II shoe – definitely one of the best running shoe co-labs to come out – but since then the spotlight has remained on the Gel Lyte III. A lightweight runner that initially confused non-athletes by having an unusual split tongue, it wasn’t until Patta and Ronnie Fieg began playing with the multitude of panels that the masses began to take notice. And take notice they did. Look back at any of the recent ASICS releases and you’ll see roadblocks, crashed servers and campouts were the order of the day.
For Scotland’s Hanon Shop, up in the glorious city of Aberdeen, things got switched up a little more than usual for their latest ASICS collaboration. Instead of simply colouring-in existing panels, there’s a reworking of fabrics and construction that makes the Wildcats totally unique. I first saw preview images of these back in the summer and made a mental note to keep an eye out for them. Sitting in front of the computer, refreshing relentlessly isn’t an easy task when you’re stuck at work, but if one shoe this year was going to be worth the effort, then this was probably it.
The name Wildcats is a nod to Hanon’s local running club of the same name and the mustard and burgundy fits perfectly with the ‘Keeps On Burning’ Hanon branding. As a sidenote, this toasty colourway works wonders as the temperature drops here in the UK. There’s also a little something in these that reminds me of my Raleigh Burner BMX bike – count that as another plus point.
Dropping the usual toebox and upgrading it for a punched suede adds a little extra protection against the elements and upgrades things to a deluxe level. 3M stripes, dual branding on the tongue and the collar lining are all contributing elements that make this perhaps the best ASICS co-lab we’ve seen to date. And, reading the frantic tweets and forum posts since they dropped at Hanon on the 28th October, it seems that there are lots of people out there who’d agree.
Big thanks to Ed at Hanon for the hook-up.
