Camiel Fortgens is stepping into the sneaker world for the first time, and doing it with a striking partner: ASICS. The Amsterdam-based designer reworked the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16 into two radically different silhouettes, ditching laces altogether and leaning into handmade detail. If you know the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16 as a dependable daily trainer, you'll barely recognize it in Fortgens' version.
Photos by Peter Numan
Born in 1992 in Amsterdam, he graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2014 and founded his own eponymous label shortly after, now a little over ten years ago. Without a classic fashion education, he developed a signature all his own: garments with visible seams, small "mistakes" and a deliberately unfinished look that challenge the usual rules of clothing design. Fortgens shows his collections through small shows and showrooms in Amsterdam and Paris, and his pieces have been worn by the likes of A$AP Rocky and Pusha T.
That approach is instantly recognizable in this collaboration. Rather than overhauling the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16 completely, Fortgens worked around it, he told Highsnobiety in an interview. The result: two versions with a slightly childlike look, built from hand-cut leather overlays, overlapping panels and irregular stitching.
Even the ASICS logo gets a warped, pressed-in finish, as if stamped by hand rather than machine. Fortgens describes the process itself as a matter of patience and repetition: a lot of DIY time went into the shoe, he says, "we were literally chipping away and sculpting our way towards the idea."
Photos by Peter Numan
The first version, in white and green, replaces laces entirely with a three-strap velcro closure inspired by kids' shoes. The second, in brown, leans into a Mary Jane shape: a single wide strap across the instep and an open tongue, with a mesh base and multi-toned brown leather overlays.
Both pairs keep the familiar running shape of the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16, but the raw leatherwork and deliberately unfinished edges make them feel genuinely handmade. Fortgens says he wasn't after a completely new design, but a shoe that feels like it was refined in his own studio.
Photos by Peter Numan
Curious how the shoes look in motion? ASICS also shared the collaboration on video:
Two Releases, One Story
The collaboration falls under "Crafts for Minds," an ASICS SportStyle program that donates part of the proceeds to the Amsterdam-based FFort Foundation. That foundation supports young adults' mental wellbeing through art and storytelling, a theme that fits Fortgens' handmade approach well.
It's also his first-ever sneaker collaboration, following years of a growing relationship with the brand, and the release happens to coincide with his own label's tenth anniversary.
Photos by Peter Numan
The white-and-green version drops first, on September 25, 2026 at Tillatec in Amsterdam. The brown version follows in October 2026, available at Dover Street Market in London and at the Camiel Fortgens flagship store in Amsterdam. Both pairs carry a retail price of €250 and come in unisex sizing, also available through ASICS itself.
Keeping the release limited to a handful of addresses fits how Fortgens has worked for years: small-scale, with close ties to the stores that carry his label, rather than a wide rollout across major sneaker chains.
Where an average performance sneaker is all about precision and repeatability, this ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16 goes the other way: every pair put together just a little differently from the last.
Photos by Peter Numan
Photos by Peter Numan
Photos by Peter Numan
Photos by Peter Numan
Photos by Peter Numan
Photos by Peter Numan
