ABOUT THE COLLAB
The EARLS x ASICS GT-2160™️ tells the story of Lewis Brown’s lineage and the culture that permeates it. Inspired by iconic Māori touchstones such as pounamu, paua and the weaving of flax, the collaboration sneaker reflects the space inhabited by its designer throughout the formative years of his life. Featuring a mix of natural cotton mesh and slightly brushed suede for the upper, the sneaker’s special printed sock liner celebrates Brown’s late grandfather. Hints of green are inspired by the various shades found in pounamu, visible from the back of the shoe to the sole and all the way through to custom two-tone flat woven laces.
Photographer - Matt Neilsen.
Location - Christchurch - Ōtautahi, New Zealand - Aotearoa.
WHY THE COLLAB HAPPENED?
It goes back to when I was a young kid. I grew up with a single mum. My dad was in my life, he was a good dude, but he was just a useless father. But I was very fortunate to have my mum's dad, my koro, that's the Māori name for pop. He took me under his wing and treated me like a son as opposed to a grandchild. Last year in May I lost him. He was my best mate, my hero. And the craziest thing, is that he wore ASICS his whole life.
My heritage runs back to a little island off New Zealand, the Chatham Islands. The only plane my koro had been on, since leaving that island when he was 18, was when he came to watch me play for the Warriors. He was traveling from Christchurch to Auckland and I got a phone call saying that Pop had a fall on the escalator at the airport and scratched up his back pretty bad. He got to Auckland, limped into my house and he said, "My back’s sore, but there's something wrong with my calf." The tough bugger had actually torn his Achilles.
I remember running out on to the field that day not knowing if he was gonna be there. And then I looked up to my right and here he was in a wheelchair and a cast. Anyone who knows ASICS well knows that there's that 8mm heel raise in the back of the shoes that helps your Achilles, or any ankle and knee problems. So for the rest of his life, through birthdays, Father's Days, through Christmas, or anytime he needed a new pair, he wore ASICS and I got them for him. So he basically wore ASICS for the last 16 years of his life. And then the day after he passed away I actually got an email from Zacc and TK [from ASICS Australia] saying "Hey, could you come out for a meeting?"
