Following on from their Sole Fury collaboration, Helen Kirkum and Reebok have come together again to reimagine the Zig sneaker featuring 20 unique pairs. Each one has been handmade from repurposed Reebok sneakers by Kirkum in her East London studio.
The exclusive collaboration will be launching this Thursday, February 25th at 15:00 p.m. (GMT) exclusively on helenkirkumzig.com.
Helen Kirkum and Reebok first collaborated in 2019 as part of Reebok’s Advanced Concepts program, where Kirkum applied her signature re-constructed aesthetic to the Sole Fury, recrafting 25 pairs from disused samples of the Pump Fury, Runner 96, Opus 3D, and Ventilator.
The Helen Kirkum x Reebok Advanced Concepts Zig is a continuation of this project in both concept and creation, as Kirkum has crafted all 20 pairs with leftover material from the initial Sole Fury collaboration. This creates a cohesive story between the two collaborations while staying true to Kirkum’s practice of imbuing sneakers with stories of their origins and, in doing so, breathing new life into the discarded.
“The sneakers are a story not only through Reebok silhouettes but also of our journey so far with Reebok, and a history of our collaboration,” shares Kirkum. “They carry memories of the previous collaboration whilst inviting you in to be a part of the next one, celebrating wearing and making in a playful way.”
Inspired by the Zig’s skeletal-like sole, Kirkum reimagined the Zig’s upper as if a cage, overlaying and overlapping materials so that the lining was left exposed in parts. Each pair is unique, handcrafted by Kirkum in London with the pieces available, and mounted on the sole at Reebok’s headquarters in Boston. In some instances, there may be slight differences between the right and left sneaker, and in the case of pair 18, a variation in the pattern as the medial eyestay component had to be replaced for a completely different piece.
Kirkum’s work is as much about the product as it is the stories it tells, and accompanying each pair is a limited-edition catalogue created with London agency The Midnight Club, as well as a hand-written note from Kirkum sharing a personal insight into the making of that particular pair.
The Helen Kirkum x Reebok Advanced Concepts Zig will be available in US 9/UK 8/EU 42 for £350 exclusively on helenkirkumzig.com on Thursday, February 25th at 15:00 p.m. (GMT).
Photos by Gary Didsbury/The Midnight Club
In 2019 Studio BLUP had the privilege of meeting Helen Kirkum at Us By Night Festival in Belgium and have loved following her journey and success. We’re proud to have Helen in our BLUP50 talent network and to support her latest collaboration with Reebok, we have designed an exclusive BLUP sneaker remix to celebrate the launch.
