Kiko Kostadinov teases Novalis season 5 and new Gel-Teremoa drop
Kiko Kostadinov’s Novalis season 5 opened at the Los Angeles flagship with a new Gel-Teremoa, turning ASICS into a sharper streetwear proposition.
The sharpest move in Kiko Kostadinov’s Novalis season 5 was the location: the release began at the Kiko Kostadinov Los Angeles flagship on May 14, with the site already flagging “ASICS Novalis Season Five Releasing 14 May.” That kind of controlled rollout does more than announce a shoe drop. It turns the launch into a moment, the kind that gives a technical sneaker the atmosphere of a fashion event.
At the center is a new variant of the GEL-TEREMOA, the latest proof that ASICS and Kiko Kostadinov Studios are still widening the lane they carved out with NOVALIS in 2023. ASICS describes NOVALIS as a unisex line built to reinterpret its “Sound Mind, Sound Body” ethos for everyday life, not just sport, and that premise still drives the project: apparel and footwear built to look sharp on the street while retaining the logic of a performance shoe. In a market crowded with runners dressed up as lifestyle pieces, Novalis keeps pushing farther into experimental territory.
The Gel-Teremoa itself is built like a hybrid with a point of view. ASICS says the shoe uses a new GEL technology structure, FF BLAST PLUS cushioning, mesh paneling, a wrap-up outsole unit, a TRUSSTIC unit in the heel and the Novalis insignia on the tongue. The message is clear enough: freedom, flexibility and everyday stability, but with enough technical machinery to satisfy the runner-heads and enough visual tension to work with wide trousers, nylon sets or cropped outerwear. It is the sort of shoe that reads as utility first, fashion second, which is exactly why it lands in streetwear.
The season’s imagery pushes the story even further from standard product photography. Large-format shots, self-made cameras and monochrome paper negatives give the campaign a handmade, slightly off-kilter feel, leaning into improvisation and serendipity rather than polished performance cues. That aesthetic makes Novalis feel less like a seasonal colorway exercise and more like an ongoing design language. With Season 5 now in motion and a new Gel-Teremoa leading the charge, Kiko Kostadinov and ASICS are no longer testing the edge of sportswear. They are building their own lane inside it.
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