WE MEET MITSUI-SAN IN PARIS, THE ICONIC ASICS DESIGNER
It’s safe to say that within the sneaker-sphere, last week we met one of their real-life Gods, Shigeyuki Mitsui. He has spent the last 30 years working with ASICS to create some incredible sneakers, the most groundbreaking of which completely smashed the notion of compromising on comfort or style when it came to footwear. In the early 90s, Mitsui sat at his desk in Japan and worked on what would be one of the most popular sneakers in history, the Gel-Lyte III. We sat down with Mitsui in a perfect re-creation of that exact office and spoke about how he creates, the disruption his designs caused and what his favourite shoe is.
What was it that originally drew you into sneaker design?
ASICS was and still is an honest company. We try to research function and develop good quality shoes. But the colour and the design of the shoes were really traditional and very conservative. So what drew me was the fact I wanted to keep the real function but in terms of appearance, I wanted to change it to a much more unique design. So, when I designed the Gel-Lyte III that was what I had in mind.
So when you first started with ASICS did you go in with this idea that you wanted to change the traditional look of a sneaker?
Yes, when I entered ASICS in 1984 I had the same concept in my mind, which was that I wanted to break the traditional method. Sometimes a designer has a very ordinary method. In the case of the design’s result, it was always similar so I wanted to break and change the colourways as well. I tried to do that, to design a new appearance for the consumers.
I read that the research team wasn’t very happy with you trying to alter the design of the sneakers…
Honestly speaking, usually I’m a troublemaker and they weren’t very happy because my designs were confusing to the product engineers. For example, the split tongue on the Gel-Lyte III – that wasn’t ordinary. The product engineers would complain to me about these things. They kept rejecting my ideas but I kept pushing for them to happen. Finally, they compromised and they found a good solution.
You’ve been working at the same company for over 30 years. How do you continue to create such incredible new designs?
I love ASICS since I began in 1984 till now that has not changed. ASICS is a very honest company. Honest meaning they develop like scientists and genuinely want to create real shoes. Inside, the shoes are produced with quality materials and created for the comfort of the consumer. However, their approach to design was very traditional and conservative. The most important thing for me is the consumer’s mind. We must think about consumer satisfaction, this is the most important thing for us. When we think about the colour we must think also about the new materialisation.
Did you ever think that sneakers would become such a religious trend?
When I designed the Gel-Lyte III 30 years ago, honestly, I didn’t think about how much the consumers would like the product, I couldn’t guess it would be this extreme. Maybe I should have been born 30 years later (laughs). It’s not only for my design that consumers continue to want this shoe but also because of the younger designers now proposing collaborations and trying new appearances and unique materialisations. That’s one of the most important factors of why the Gel-Lyte III is still so popular.
In your opinion, what makes a good shoe?
The most important thing is honesty. We should always create the shoes not just for the outside design but also the inside and the way they are worn. If the consumers see the new product and think that it’s really cool, of course that’s an important factor but it’s not enough. After the consumer sees the shoe they will try them on and then think about how they feel. It’s the most important thing to be comfortable.
Which is your favourite of the ASICS shoes?
My favourite shoe is maybe the version created 30 years later by the younger designers. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of their new creations. So keep checking, maybe the designs 20 years later will be even more incredible.
