Ryan Trecartin is set to debut a new episodic film series created for Kiko Kostadinov and ASICS, launching across 2026 in a three-part rollout.
Conceived as a sequence of short-form commercial-style works, each instalment will coincide with the release of a new Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS Tabi Runner model, marking nearly ten years of collaboration between the two brands. The new lightweight runner evolves from traditional tabi work boots and classic Asics tabi marathon shoes first developed by the Japanese athletics brand in the 1950s, and the series will be accompanied by live events in Los Angeles, Tokyo and London, before culminating in a feature-length final project titled BUCKLE YUP.
Filmed on location across Tokyo and Okinawa with a cast of 15 local actors, the project expands on Trecartin’s ongoing creative partnership with the label, following earlier site-specific works at its flagship spaces.
Blending scripted dialogue, improvisation and original music composed by Trecartin, the films draw on the language of teen musicals and commercial pop to explore themes of romance, digital labour and consumer culture—reframing traditional brand storytelling through an experimental lens.
Act 1, titled BUCKLE YUP: CUE SHOES, will debut on 23rd February 2026 in Los Angeles to mark the release of the Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS ILARGI FF. Act 2, titled BUCKLE YUP: LIP SINK MUZAK and Act 3, titled BUCKLE YUP: VOICE-UNDERED ROMANTIC, will be released with subsequent events held in Tokyo (April) and London (July) to mark the launch of the Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS LYASA FF and Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS ILARGI FF II, respectively.
Check out imagery in the gallery above.
Follow Dance Wax on Instagram.