As a general rule, sneaker collaborations tend to involve two brands, usually an athletic footwear company and a partner from the entertainment, fashion or retail spaces. In rare instances, projects have combined three labels for multi-brand meetings of the minds. There have even been a small handful of sneaker collaborations which called on four different perspectives. Now, a brand new release from Japanese sportswear company Asics is pushing the boundaries of collaboration by tapping seven different retail partners to come together for an ambitious, first-of-its-kind special makeup.

The Asics Gel-Cumulus 16 Tomo is the result of the company’s top retail partners combining for a project that “celebrates the community, creativity and collaboration between brand and retail partners,” according to Lilian Chevalier, senior manager of footwear merchandising at Asics. To reward the doors that have been helping Asics snatch away market share from its competitors, the Japanese company tapped Concepts, Extra Butter, Feature, Lapstone & Hammer, Sneaker Politics, Somewhere and The Whitaker Group. Centered around the Japanese word “Tomo,” which means friend and is used internally at Asics to refer to its top accounts, the collaboration represents not only the bond between the footwear manufacturer and its retail partners, but the shared camaraderie between the stores.

“To be considered to be a part of this special initiative and to be regarded amongst such admired boutiques is an honor,” creative director Bernie Gross tells Footwear News. “The teams behind these seven shops have known each other for quite some time. We’ve grown to respect and give props to each other’s wins.”

On paper, gathering so many differing perspectives with the goal of arriving at a singular design may sound like a daunting task. Seasoned footwear industry employees often have strong opinions about how shoes should look, feel and be marketed. Would seven different visions — eight including the Asics team — be able to successfully come together without any major hiccups along the way? The answer, from both the collaborators involved and the final product, is a resounding yes.

“There is always a bit of pressure and nervous energy when working on something new but all of us involved are actually friends so working together felt very natural and ideas flowed really well,” says Brian Nadav, owner of Philadelphia’s Lapstone & Hammer, where Asics has been the top-selling brand for the last two years.

Blaine McGowan, senior marketing manager at Sneaker Politics, tells FN that it was an honor to work alongside so many esteemed retailers and considers it an unforgettable experience. “We knew the internet would go hard on us because collectively we have a lot of design experience in the footwear space,” McGowan says.

For Kim Johnson, founder of Las Vegas staple Feature, which has since expanded with locations in Calabasas, Calif., San Diego and Scottsdale, it was both overwhelming and an honor to be chosen alongside Asics’ top retail accounts.    

“There is always pressure in everything we do,” Johnson tells FN. “But the pressure is what fuels us. We need to keep pushing ourselves and each other to maintain the level that we esteem to be.”

The Tomo collaboration began with representatives from each retailer gathering to brainstorm on an overall concept. Behind-the-scenes images shared by Gross show abandoned concepts including inspiration from Japanese Boro denim, retro arcade games and “jewelry for feet.” Ultimately, the collective arrived at the idea of a mood ring gradient.

“The concept was about friendship, friendship bracelets and mood rings. How your mood changes when you’re around people you truly enjoy,” Madison St. Pierre, buyer and merchandising assistant at Concepts, tells FN.

After the group arrived at the mood ring theme, Asics split the Tomo accounts into two groups where they quickly got to work translating the idea into a sneaker. 

“We ran the gamut of color libraries, fabrics and textiles swatches and even peripherals including insole and co-branded labeling,” Gross says.

Over the course of two days at Asics’ U.S. headquarters in Boston, the teams of creatives deliberated and drafted CADs, with one group arriving on a single design with the other bunch coming up with three different options. From there, the four options were pitted head to head with all of the retailers and representatives from the Asics Tomo design, marketing and sales teams casting votes on their favorites. The pair with the most votes would then move into sampling and production phases. 

“Different concepts were considered along the way, and the final Gel-Cumulus 16 Tomo came together as the version that most effectively captured the team’s collective vision,” Jamar Grant, lead of retail buying and inventory strategist at The Whitaker Group, tells FN.

That collective resulted in a Cream/Malachite Green variation of the recently reissued Gel-Cumulus 16 model. The shoe is colored predominantly in silver, a staple color of the retro 2000s-era sneakers that have contributed to Asics’ U.S. success in recent years such as the Gel-Kayano 14 and Gel-1130. 

The entire mesh base of the sneaker is reflective, giving the limited-edition style a hidden pop of visibility that comes alive in low-lighting settings. And the mood ring story is told through accents of gradient colors which cover two of the Gel-Cumulus 16’s most significant features: the tiger stripe branding and midsole Gel cushioning. Fading from an emerald green up front to a Prince-like purple, the shades represent the shifting moods that inspired the sneaker.

“I think that translated very well without being overly literal. The reflective mesh is a great touch as it allows an interesting pop in a subtle way,” says Dominick Adams, owner of Washington, DC’s Somewhere. Adams also tells FN that two other Tomo colorways are in the works for spring fashion week in 2026. 

The tongue of the left shoe features the Kanji character for “Tomo,” while a set of alternate shoelaces feature a gradient fade and metal lace tips for those who want to swap out the cream set that the pair comes with. 

“From the color changing tiger stripe representing the shifting moods, the silver metallic and chrome overlays to the reflective mesh and ombre faded laces, this sneaker is our version of a mood ring that is meant to reference your friendships and connections with special people in your life,” Nadav says.

While the seven different partners managed to work relatively seamlessly together, many of the retailers FN spoke with said the biggest challenge the project presented was working with an unproven canvas in the Gel-Cumulus 16 silhouette.

“Asics has done [such] a fantastic job keeping the Gel-Kayano 14, Gel-1130, GT-2160 and Gel NYC in the forefront that I was a bit nervous to go outside of those models,” Adams says.

St. Pierre echoes the uncertainty, but tells FN it ended up allowing the groups to have more freedom creatively.

The Asics Gel-Cumulus 16 Tomo was released Saturday for $170 from asics.com and each of the participating retail partners. 

In the big picture, Chevalier says Asics hopes the Tomo collaboration will highlight the bonds within the athletic footwear space. 

“We want consumers to see and understand the deep spirit of partnership in our industry,” Chevalier says. “This project underscores that our retailers aren’t just retailers. They are true partners and even more, friends to us and to each other.”