Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS UB13-S GEL-SD Lyte Drops Three Colorways April 2

Three new colorways of the Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS UB13-S GEL-SD Lyte landed on April 2, each priced at $180 and available through ASICS channels and select retailers globally. The pack follows the UB12-S GEL-SD Lyte that preceded it, advancing the Bulgarian designer's now well-established creative partnership with ASICS SportStyle.

The construction is identical across all three pairs and rewards a close look. A molded ASICS cage wraps the layered upper, which Kiko Kostadinov Studio describes as drawing from the shell-like interplay between an egg's exterior and inner membrane: organic in profile, architectural in execution. The sole unit is thick and deliberately sculpted, housing FLYTEFOAM PROPEL cushioning beneath. An offset tongue pull tab, present on all three colorways, is one of those small deviations from runner orthodoxy that signals a designer's hand without shouting about it.

The gradient work is where each pair earns its own identity. The Brown/Mauve-Blue (style code 1203A972-201), marketed under the name "Black Coffee," grounds itself in the deepest tones of the pack, letting the blue bleed through at the collar with the restraint of a late-evening sky. The Olive Grey/Rust Orange (1203A972-301) pushes warmth into the mix, pairing muted grey with the kind of burnt orange that reads earthy in winter and sun-bleached in spring. The Yellow/Green, nicknamed "Kelp Sage," is the most committed to seasonal brightness, stacking green and moss tones against yellow in a gradient that feels less like footwear colorblocking and more like tide-pool geology.

None of this arrives without context. The GEL-SD Lyte is a 2010 archive runner that ASICS has been steadily reactivating, with general-release colorways and a Comme des Garçons collaboration running in parallel to Kiko's more design-intensive takes. The UB13-S designation marks this as the third iteration of Kostadinov's engagement with the silhouette, and the glossy synthetic materials alternating with wide-grain mesh remain consistent enough across editions to read as a coherent body of work rather than seasonal novelty.

Sneaker News has noted a degree of output fatigue around Kiko's ASICS releases, a fair observation given the cadence. But the design language has held. At $180, the UB13-S sits at a price point where the FLYTEFOAM construction and the specificity of the gradient execution make the premium legible, even if the cultural temperature around the partnership has cooled slightly from its peak. For gorpcore and sportswear-adjacent dressing, these remain among the more considered options at this price in the current market.