Shibuya in a London Basement

The Asics Gel-Lyte III is one of those objects that survives decades without becoming ironic. Introduced in 1990 with a split tongue that was quietly radical for the time, it exists in the category of things that never quite became vintage because they never quite stopped being current. Asics flew a room of people to London to celebrate its twenty-fifth year, and I was in it.

The location was somewhere tucked into the city—the kind of space that takes effort to find and then makes sense once you’re inside. Japanese food, green tea, Asahi by the case. The intent was to transplant a small piece of Shibuya into a London basement, and it worked well enough. There were enormous arcade-style games that required your whole body, which is the correct way to play anything once you’ve had enough beer.

The new Tiger sneakers they launched that night included a version that glows in the dark. Standing in a dim room surrounded by luminous footwear, full of Asahi and good sushi, losing badly at some giant game while people cheered from the side—it’s a strange and pleasant way to spend a Friday. The Gel-Lyte III turns twenty-five and still earns its own party.