Story MFG.'s ASICS Sneakers Are Humble Perfection
Story MFG.'s ASICS sneakers are a sign of how far patient fashion can go. Really, the British label's Spring/Summer 2025 collection, which includes shoe collaborations with ASICS, ROA and Suicoke, reflects the power of authenticity.
Story MFG. grew from co-founder Saeed Al-Rubeyi's passion project into full-fledged ready-to-wear brand, complete with fragrances, homeware, and multiple sub-labels. It even operates a physical flagship store, a massive landmark for any indie label.
That Story MFG. is able to do this while only doubling down on its mantra of slow-made ethical clothing is itself an achievement. All the other stuff would be a nice bonus if it wasn't also extremely good.
And beyond Story MFG.'s delightful SS25 clothing, which encompasses organic blazers, patched chore coats, lightly technical bombers and its signature voluminous trousers, there are those footwear collabs.
As Story MFG. has grown, it has only lightly dabbled in collaboration. This is interesting because high-profile partnerships are both symbolic of success — you know you're doing well when big brands want you to redesign their stuff — and easy tickets to further fame.
To put it bluntly, even as big as sacai was in the world of fashion, sneakerheads had never heard of the Japanese label prior to its inimitable Nike sneaker collabs. Now it's practically a household name.
Story MFG., however, has mostly sidestepped team-ups aside from a couple Reebok partnerships in a pre-COVID-19 pandemic world. Its Gentle Fullness imprint just released a Keen sandal collaboration, though, so perhaps Story is expanding its inclination for expansion. Plants can only grow at their own pace, after all.
For Spring/Summer 2025, Story MFG. is taking on ASICS' GEL-Venture 5 sneaker, a tech-y hiking-leaning sneaker that's as cutely graphic as it is sturdy, draped in pink gingham.
The Story MFG. ROA shoes are similarly trekky and dandy, deliciously textural but as rugged as any other ROA adventure boot.
It all just makes perfect sense in the humble universe that Story stoically constructed around itself. These are useful shoes, statement shoes, simple shoes. The function is unchanged but the designs are upgraded and organic, lightly crunchy and imminently approachable.
A good shoe collab is a microcosm of the partners involved. This is a good shoe collab.
