Earlier this month, German sneaker boutique AFEW held a charity auction for their 1-of-1 ASICS GEL-LYTE III “Beauty of Imperfection CP 1/1,” raising €13000 for Regenbogenland children and youth hospice. AFEW has now unveiled a version of the project that will be available to the general public.
Collaborations between AFEW and ASICS are highly regarded amongst the sneakerhead community. In fact, the 2015 AFEW GEL-LYTE III “Koi” was voted by fans as the greatest ASICS GEL-LYTE III collab ever in a 2020 Instagram poll. Continuing this legacy, AFEW and ASICS are now shifting from “Koi” to “BOI,” dropping a GEL-LYTE III with a “Beauty of Imperfection” theme.
Inspired by the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, the “BOI” GEL-LYTE III features a grey suede upper, purple suede/canvas heels, and leather stripes on the lateral side panel that change color from greenish grey to pink with wear. The ASICS Tiger Stripes on the medial side panel are stitched on in purple thread. Additional details include a vintage-inspired beige midsole, and gum outsole, and wabi-sabi (侘寂) characters on the heels and cork insoles.
The AFEW x ASICS GEL-LYTE III “BOI” launches on Saturday, February 26th in-store and via online raffle on the AFEW website. Check out the campaign video above, featuring German-Congolese dancer Flockey Ocscor.
AFEW x ASICS GEL-LYTE III “BOI”
Color: Polar Shade/Seagrass
Style Code: 1201A479-023
Release Date: February 26, 2022
Price: €169.95 EUR
