Engineered Garments x K-Swiss: GT Classic - Releasing 05.12.23
Engineered Garments teams up with Los Angeles-based heritage footwear brand K-Swiss for a new footwear collaboration. The unisex footwear collection features a modernized version of K-Swiss’ Classic original 1966 model. The Classic GT is available in three colorways. This collaboration merges the utilitarian, rugged feel of Engineered Garments, focusing on reimagined cuts and textures melded with K-Swiss’ sophisticated minimalist design.
“For K-Swiss it was an honor to collaborate with Engineered Garments - a brand that, just as ours, seeks to elevate designs, posing the question of how to redefine a Classic,” says Senior Designer of Collaborations, Jon Tang. “This collaboration speaks to our identity, to push the limits of what elevated Classics can be.”
Engineered Garments Founder and Creative Director Daiki Suzuki has had a keen interest in K-Swiss from when he first saw the brand while working at a store in Tokyo back in the 80s.
“I saw a brown leather K-Swiss shoe at that time and I remember that it looked so great,” says Daiki Suzuki. For the collaboration, Suzuki landed on a reimagining of the Classic GT, as it reminded him most of what he liked and grew up with in the 80s.
“To me, K-Swiss shoes at their core are tennis shoes, and the Classic GT is… pretty close to what I liked and grew up with in the 80s, with its D-ring eyelets and mountain shoe-like blucher construction,” continues Suzuki. “I wanted to maintain the authentic K-Swiss look, so I kept everything except the D-ring straps on one side.”
Daiki Suzuki brings Engineered Garments’ perspective to the shoe with the Japanese brand’s much-beloved asymmetry, in both the shoe’s signature D-rings and a mix of leather and suede materials. Of the three colorways offered, Suzuki points to his nostalgic favorite: the brown Classic GT, an homage to his favorite from the 80s.
The launch will be celebrated with a release party on May 12th 2023, hosted at the Nepenthes retail store in New York 7pm - 9pm. Guests will have the opportunity to preview the collection while enjoying complimentary beverages. 88 pairs of a limited-edition Classic ‘88 shoe will be seeded out to friends and family, as well as an exclusive limited run t-shirt that will be gifted with purchase.
The collection is available for online purchase at KSwiss.com, Nepenthes New York and selected retailers - will offer the three colorway Classic GT styles globally on May 12, 2023.
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ABOUT K-SWISS
From the beginning, K-Swiss was driven by an entrepreneurial spirit when two Swiss brothers moved to California to create a footwear brand focused on tennis. As avid skiers, the brothers took inspiration from leather ski boots to create a supportive, leather tennis shoe. Introduced in 1966, the K-Swiss Classic was the world’s first all-leather tennis shoe. It quickly gained worldwide acclaim and became a style statement both on and off the court, worn casually in country clubs and just as fashionably on city streets. Now, 57 years later, K-Swiss is building from its heritage as an American tennis brand and writing new chapters in its storied history. Paying homage to the hard work of our founders and the competitive nature of the game that inspired it all, K-Swiss is dedicated to outfitting and inspiring the next generation of tennis players.
ABOUT ENGINEERED GARMENTS
Engineered Garments was founded by Daiki Suzuki in New York in 1999, after taking inspiration from his years buying for the Nepenthes stores in their early stages and combining it with his own vision. As a brand, our aim is to make garments that become more personal through the experiences you have with them. We value unique garment construction with attention to detail, with meaning and hidden qualities behind each design. We venture into conflicting themes, straying from “perfect design”. We are not designed but engineered.
