Everything You Need to Know About the SoleFly x ASICS Gel Lyte III "Night Haven"

all images via Pete Forester

SoleFly is a small Miami shop, and have always only serviced Miami. They are passionate about their city, and Art Basel is arguably the event of the year. SoleFly wanted to tell the story of their city and that artistic convergence. Giancarlos explains that there’s more to Art Basel than most people reason. “People think that it’s just fine art most of the time, but it really gives a lot of people the opportunity to showcase any medium whether it be music, fine art, or fashion.” They wanted to meet that artistic crowd halfway and offer a luxurious design.

The sneakers are named the “Night Haven” because so much of Miami’s reputation and life comes from what happens after the sun sets. “We wanted to make it a night dweller,” Giancarlos says. “You can wear this out and it might not catch peoples’ eyes immediately because it blends with the night on the outside, but once light hits it then you’re shining.” That shine is a feature ASICS has never offered before.

The midsole on the shoe is painted in a 3M treatment. This is the first time ASICS has ever done a reflective midsole and it wasn’t easy to pull off. It took a little cajoling. But it adds a dynamic to the shoe that no ASICS has ever had and gives it that extra tip over into the world of luxe.

Since luxury was the inspiration, they went all out. Using leather on the toe, debossed to an ostrich skin, and plush suede, the dark silhouette scream sophistication. The aforementioned reflective midsole plays off 3M under the ASICS stripes, and under mesh on the heel. The shoe is entirely lined in leather, and comes with three sets of laces: 3M rope laces, a flat black lace splattered with teal, and a waxed cotton black lace.

The shoe isn’t all black, in fact the medial side of the shoe holds that splash of hidden color. On the inside, the ASICS stripes are teal, and there’s a hit of pink on the outsole. It’s a call to that OG Southbeach colorway that we’ve all become familiar with. “It’s kind of like the neon lights that Miami has displayed throughout the city,” says Giancarlos. “That’s what we wanted to give off with those colors.”

SoleFly is well known for their super limited collaborations with Jordan. Their special positioning within the industry has allowed them access to the untouchable, and has fostered familiarity within the sneaker community. But SoleFly is ready to break out and become more accessible. “We want people to have SoleFly in their closets,” Giancarlos asys. “And this is the first time we’ve been able to have as many people as possible do that. This is our springboard into sneaker culture, and getting people to be a part of the SoleFly experience.”

If you want these you’re going to have to work really hard. They've only made 333 pairs. Total. And less than half of them are going to be available to people outside of Miami. In fact, SoleFly is finally launching their webstore just for this release. Since the shoe is really about Miami, they’re going to make most pairs available to people within its city. And then once they take care of the home team, the rest will be put online. “It wasn’t really our idea to do something that limited,” Giancarlos explains, but ASICS wanted this to be something really special.

We're all super familiar with the riots that were happening in Vietnam less than a year ago and how that affected the footwear industry. Some collabs were lost, some pairs were destroyed, and the aftermath was felt on this release as well. When SoleFly was going through the sample process, they were making changes on the shoe without be able to see how those changes were affecting the final product. Samples weren’t making their way out of Vietnam. “The call on the ostrich was made blind,” Giancardlos says. “We hadn’t seen the ostrich before receiving the final shoe.” Talk about trusting your gut.

The shoe releases on December 6, which is during Art Basel. That’s kind of the point. But Art Basel is known for the wild installations and fantastic parties. ASICS and SoleFly is getting in on the action and throwing a rager at the popup that’s selling the shoes, with a huge musical guest. They don’t want you lining up for it right now, so stay tuned to get the final details.

As a part of their expansion to get SoleFly into the lives of as many people as possible, they’re going to open another shop next year. Everything is still in development, but look forward to twice the SoleFly we had before.