Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS Gel Nepxa 'Black'
Colorway: Black/Black · Style code: 1023A009-001 · Release date: October 2019 · Price: $2682 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS Gel Nepxa 'Roselle' (1023A009-500) · ASICS Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS Ilargi FF 'Carbon' (1203A982-001) · ASICS GelStyrax Kiko Kostadinov Sneakers (1203A500-001) · ASICS GelDelva 1 Kiko Kostadinov Sneakers (1013A041-200) · ASICS x Kiko Kostadinov Oxalidac Sweater (2203A324-200)
Kiko Kostadinov's work with ASICS has consistently produced shapes the brand would not arrive at alone, and the Gel-Nepxa is among the strangest. It is a mid-cut shoe with no lacing at all, closed instead by an ankle strap that carries the brand's logo, a construction drawn from wrestling and motorcycle footwear rather than running. A lightweight upper with a translucent mesh overlay sits above a FlyteFoam midsole, so the performance parts are real even though the silhouette is not one that any running category asked for. It arrived as part of the designer's autumn and winter collection for that year, alongside a warmer red version. The all-black treatment is the more severe of the two, and it makes the strap and the absence of laces the only things the eye has to work with.