Asics & Miyake Design Studio Kick Off 2026 Collaborations With 'HYPER TAPING'

Athletic taping has always been about invisible support: skin-coloured elastic wrapped tight around an ankle, holding things together without causing a scene. Leave it to Miyake Design Studio to take that logic, and make it the entire point. HYPER TAPING, their first collaboration with ASICS, turns the concept inside out, replacing the sportswear giant's signature stripes with thick bands that wrap around the foot like structural scaffolding. It is a mix between support as an aesthetic statement, and function made deliberately visible.

Photo Credit: Issey Miyake

The shoe takes its cue from athletic taping; (i.e. the elastic support you'd see on a wrestler's ankle or a tennis player's knee), and translates it into thick bands that wrap around the upper foot like structural reinforcement. It's a literal reading of support: bold, graphic, unapologetic and striking. What makes it super interesting, though, is how Miyake Design Studio has pushed it beyond function into something closer to a design element. The bands aren't just there to stabilise; they're the entire spectacle of the shoe, replacing ASICS' signature stripes with something that feels more engineered and deliberate.

Photo Credit: Issey Miyake

Underneath that, there's actual thought, a wrestling outsole that flows up the lower portion of the upper, reptilian style grip patterns, a widened last to make the typically snug wrestling silhouette wearable for extended periods. They've paired it with Flytefoam PROPEL cushioning and an Ortholite sockliner, which is to say they've taken a performance base and adjusted it for the kind of person who walks fifteen thousand steps a day, not the kind who grapples on a mat.

Photo Credit: Issey Miyake

The material palette of mesh and multiple types of leather comes in three colourways, including a fluorescent green that feels lifted straight from a 90s athletics tournament. It keeps things grounded - So not necessarily creating anything new; but reconfiguring familiar elements into something that sits somewhere between sportswear and the kind of footwear you'd expect to see in a Miyake runway lineup.

Launching January 22nd, it's positioned as the start of something longer term rather than a one time trial. Whether that means more collaborations or just more variations of this same idea remains to be seen, but for now, it's enough that two brands known for taking their time have actually made something worth paying attention to!