A new year means new partnerships. Aussie based HSDT, led by John Bouquet, takes us on a one way trip to NYC with the new The GEL-NYC™ 2.0 SSHS. Fresh off the back of previous ASICS collabs, this one is different. Some silhouettes don’t need to shout. They murmur – quietly confident, technically sound, and deeply considered.
The ‘The Architecture of Everyday Life’ embodies NYC’s everyday structures; scaffolding, mesh fences, stairwells and sidewalks; the things that hold up the city so it never sleeps.
Shaolin ’93
Wu-Tang’s nickname for Staten Island; an island built on mythic kung-fu scenes, fought to be its own.
Queens ’94
Illmatic sounds like a camera panning across Queensbridge at dawn.
Queens to Staten Island. From Nas, Illmatic, to Wu-Tang, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Both debut albums appearing on a beginner guide to hip-hop: level one. A nod to the culture we all grew up on. Albums that documented place, time and perspective.
From Firehouse Studio and A-1 Records to side streets and late-night link ups, the extended circle stretches wide – featuring Throwing Fits, A$AP Twelvyy, Lichen, Malcolm Ransome and Shane Davis of Public Records. Collectively they represent the communities shaping the city’s sound and style.
No extras. No gimmicks. The GEL-NYC™ 2.0 SSHS is built for everyday movement across the city – shaped by the spaces, routines and communities that wear it.
HSDT has never been about noise. They’re about refinement. Systems thinking. Making something familiar feel sharper, more resolved. With this release, that philosophy is pushed further; utilising industrial codes into an object of considered design.
Influenced by the characteristics of NYC and inspired by two legendary albums by Raekwon and Nas (Illmatic and Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)) that helped define the sound of the city. The HSDT x ASICS GEL-NYC™ 2.0 SSHS will be available on asics.com on Friday 16th Jan.
