Iron Man (2008) is Ronnie Fieg's favourite Marvel Cinematic Universe film. But if we open things up to the entire multiverse – that's Disney's 'sacred timeline' and beyond—it's got to be Logan (2017).
“I've seen almost every [Marvel] film,” the founder of lifestyle brand Kith tells us over email. “Given the recent news revealed at San Diego Comic Con [ICYMI, Robert Downey Jr is returning to the fold as Doctor Doom], I’m excited to see how they will tie everything together in the upcoming Avengers films.”
It's unlikely that anything will usurp 2017's pseudo-farewell to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine for him, though. “I remember leaving the theatre [after watching Logan] and being in awe of its new perspective on characters we had so much history with.”
New perspective is exactly what the NYC-based designer/entrepreneur has to offer through Kith's latest collaboration with Marvel, one that marks the House of Super's 85th anniversary by saluting “the characters we love to hate”: the baddies.
“Marvel Villians have such complicated and deep character stories; it's hard not to have an emotional connection with them,” he says. “I felt they deserved a moment of their own.”
'Super Villains' marks the third collaboration between Kith and Marvel. Followers of Fieg will remember that the first was an ode to Spider-Man, a celebration of 60 years of the web slinger, and the second marked the 60th anniversary of the X-Men.
The latter collection, which launched last summer, revolved around a pack of seven ASICS Remastered Gel-Lyte IIIs—each inspired by a different mutant (except, Wolverine played muse to two). It proved remarkably popular, which came as no surprise to Fieg, a man who exists in the realms of both comic books and sneakers.
“Ultimately, it comes down to being a collector,” says Fieg, referring to the crossover between the two communities. “It leads you to finding like-minded individuals, and once you’ve become part of that community and immersed yourself in the culture of it, it becomes a part of you.”
Accordingly, sneakers are at the forefront and centre of the annual Kith x Marvel drop for a second consecutive year. ASICS, again.
“I’ve been working with ASICS’ vintage tech catalogue for three or four years now – we’ve [constantly] integrated exclusive colourways into our seasonal collections and capsules.”
Kith's support of the Japanese footwear label has surely played a part in its recent rise. ASICS has seen a 600 per cent growth on StockX this year, driven by the Gel-NYC, the GT-2160, the Gel-Kayano 14 and the Gel-1130.
Three of these silhouettes—all but the Gel-NYC—are implemented in this drop. Given the Marvel x Kith treatment. Injected with Oscorp super serum, if you will. “The panelling on the uppers of these silhouettes lent themselves to menacing and dynamic colour blocking,” Fieg tells us.
Each comes packaged in a very special box with an original, villain-focused comic book. There are several covers of varying degrees of rarity. Like the X-Men trading cards included in last year's shoe boxes, some are officially authenticated by US-based authenticator company, PSA.
Below, Fieg walks us through all five colourways, including the one he wears the most, the 'Green Goblin', and his favourite – the soul stone in his infinity gauntlet – the 'Silver Surfer'.
“Silver Surfer is an incredibly complex character. His path would eventually lead him to righteousness, but when we’re first introduced to him, he’s herald of Galactus [the Fantastic Four's biggest threat]. He’s responsible for identifying planets for Galactus to devour, causing the deaths of entire worlds and their populations.
“I love this model. The materials we used really brought the character’s design to life. The vamp and quarter panels use a special translucent mesh, while the overlays feature this silver iridescent finish which looks incredible in the light.”
“I talked about this in a podcast last year, but for those who don’t know, I actually designed a Remastered Gel Lyte III 'Magneto' colourway to be part of our X-Men collection, but, ultimately didn’t make sense for the story. I loved the colourway though and when thinking about this year’s collection, I knew for sure I wanted to bring that idea to life. I started from scratch using the GEL-1130 which I think came out even stronger.”
“This is a nod back to our first collaboration with Marvel, which celebrated Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary. When identifying the different villains we’d feature, Venom was a no-brainer. Which led me to the idea of creating a special double-box set of Spider-Man vs. Venom.
“This colourway references Spidey’s classic red-and-blue suit. He’s one of my favourite characters of all time, especially considering he, like myself, is a Queens native.”
“Venom is one of my favourite villains. Out of all the characters, I think I enjoyed going through his artwork archive the most. The different artists throughout his history have created such incredible illustrations and images of him. The storylines that pit Spider-Man against him were always my favourite, along with [Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin].”
“Green Goblin is one of those villains imprinted in the minds of everyone who's even remotely familiar with the comics. He’s iconic. He’s as vicious as they come. I love his colour palette, and being able to integrate various shades of green against the purple accents.”
The Marvel x Kith x ASICS collaboration launches in Kith stores, the Kith webstore and the Kith app on Friday 9 August alongside the rest of the Marvel x Kith 85th Anniversary Collection.
