[Update 7 Dec 2022] Its been a long wait but official details for the A.P.C. x ASICS collaboration have been announced! Set to partner for a footwear release, the duo puts the spotlight on the latter’s GEL-SONOMA 15-50 silhouette. Releasing in three colorways—blue, black and beige, the designs stays true to the A.P.C.’s minimalist approach while adding a pop of color with tie dyed laces. Finished with a mark of identities, co-branded logos fill each side of the window panels of the sneaker. Set to release exclusively on 9th December via A.P.C., the A.P.C. x ASICS GEL-SONOMA 15-50 will also be made available for purchase from 16th December via ASICS and selected retailers.

It’s as the title says: Parisian fashion label A.P.C. will be collaborating with Japanese footwear, sporting and lifestyle apparel company ASICS to produce a Fall/Winter 2022 Collection!

A.P.C., standing for Atelier de Production et de Création (or “Atelier for Production and Creation” in English), is a fashion label best known for its minimalist, decidedly normal styling. In the words of the company’s founder, Jean Touitou, they aim to make “something deep and exciting with boring elements”, all in order to reach “sublime simplicity”. Besides some frantic deviations to avoid ‘normcore’ trends that dominated the fashion space, A.P.C. have generally stuck to their guns in creating beautifully simple apparel, retailing at prices just under those of the world’s luxury designer brands.

ASICS, on the other hand, is most respected for incorporating technology into their running and sports footwear, improving user experience through innovation. Though ASICS produces sports and lifestyle apparel as well, their collaborations generally involve footwear. Here’s a small piece of sneaker trivia: Nike (once known as Blue Ribbon Sports) started as a distributor for Onitsuka, the brand ASICS grew from. Yes, that’s the same Ontisuka brand you see on Onitsuka Tigers today. Crazy, right?

Extremely little information is currently known about the contents and release date of the A.P.C. x ASICS Fall/Winter 2022 collection. With that being said, what should one expect from it? Judging from the general trends of both brands, the collection will likely involve a set of sports, or active lifestyle-focused footwear, featuring A.P.C.’s minimalist designs while utilising ASICS’ superior sports technology to create footwear with both form and function. Should the collaboration choose to go the apparel route as well, we might see an exciting mix of A.P.C.’s near-designer-level clothing and ASICS’ sportswear materials. With plenty of creativity and experimentation from both sides, who knows what novelties they could produce?

In other sneaker-related news, check out another collaborative ASICS collection with Japanese street basketball brand ballaholic.