Asics x hanon GT II Northern Liites

Hanon presents a brand new collaboration with Asics, dubbed Northern Liites. For this project the retailer reworked the GT II, one of its favorite Asics from the sneaker brand’s catalog. The concept and inspiration for the release is a nod to hanon’s northerly location and a continuation of “Northern Sole”, a theme they developed a few years back. The shoes are scheduled for a release on Saturday, April 10th, 2010 at hanon. A limited global release takes place on April 17th through select doors. Detail behind the project’s inspiration are offered below.

Our approach to this style was inspired by the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, a natural light phenomenon that occurs at night throughout the Winter in the northern hemisphere. For those lucky enough to see it, the dark skies are transformed from black to a multicoloured light show. The initial northern lights idea stemmed from the familiar Asics tiger claw stripes on the upper and how well we felt they would suit the concept. From there we applied an upper to reflect the night sky and some additional details to complete the theme. The shoe make up is a mix of premium suede, full grain leather, air flow mesh and scotchlite overlays. The multicoloured tiger claw stripes depict the ribbons of light created by the aurora borealis whist varying grades of black to white on the upper reflect the dark sky. Some additional features to the shoe include a scotchlite application to the tiger stripes, a night sky heel counter and translucent panel on the outsole. Lastly, the woven hanon ‘Keeps On Burning’ label celebrates our 20th anniversary and is inspired by the imagery and slogans of Northern Soul, a musical following born out of the north of england in the late sixties. Much like the sneaker enthusiasts of today, we liked the connection of the passionate collector whether it be a rare 45 or that pair of kicks that can’t be found.