Singaporean artist Tobyato Just Announced His First ASICS Collaboration

Tobyato is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and illustrator who has worked across multiple mediums ranging from sprawling murals in Singapore, to brand collaborations across South-East Asia. His aesthetic is often bold, striking, and inspired by traditional Chinese motifs, and modern, playful influences that reflect both his heritage, as well as his personality.

As an enthusiast of street culture, he has collaborated with Casio G-SHOCK, Levi’s, Shake Shack, JD Sports and ASICS amongst others, steadily building a body of work that exemplifies artist brand collaborations.

Drawing inspiration from the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, tobyato’s NOVABLAST features an asymmetrical black and white design with a pop of pink and interchangeable velcro patches on the shoe tongue. It explores the delicate balance between black and white and the co-dependency between opposite elements - which discovers a synergy that is nothing short of exceptional.

The bold flowing tiger stripe motif on the shoe’s supper mimics traditional Chinese ink painting and pays homage to the Chinese belief that a tiger’s breath creates the winds around the world, mirroring the flow of creativity throughout the world.

In 2020, tobyato was one of 30 regional creatives invited to customise a pair of GL-III for the 30th Anniversary of the GLIII silhouette. He hand painted a Yin-Yang inspired GL-III with matching waves on the ASICS stripes. Out of the 30 creatives, through a public vote and ASICS internal discussion, tobyato was one of 3 creatives selected to continuing working with the ASICS brand. Giving birth to the current release of the tobyato x ASICS NOVABLAST sneaker.

The tobyato x ASICS NOVABLAST is now available, click the boxes below for more info