Footwear brand K-Swiss is teaming up with esports organization Immortals to launch the first-ever signature sneaker for a professional gaming team.
The shoe is based on K-Swiss’ Kompass line and features accents of Immortals’ signature colors, cyan and black, along with its warrior helmet logo. It also has K-Swiss’ hallmark five stripes along with its new Surge dual-density technology, which offers a pillow-like cushion that can alleviate weight on the heel. There will be versions available for both men and women. They will launch in December at select retailers and kswiss.com and they will have a suggested retail cost of $110.
“The announcement of this partnership between K-Swiss and Immortals is the first step on a long journey that we believe will result in the design and creation of targeted, premium lifestyle and performance apparel for esports players and fans around the globe,” said Immortals president and COO Ari Segal in a press release.
K-Swiss said it’s also working on a performance version of the Immortals Kompass. It will apparently visit the team’s Los Angeles training facility over the next few months to gauge a professional gamer’s technical performance needs, such as the rising temperature in a shoe and movement during a match. That shoe will debut in early 2019.
“Like any professional athlete, esports competitors look for any advantage they can use against their opponents,” said Immortals CEO Noah Whinston. “By wearing a uniquely designed shoe specifically created for our esports players with their input, they know that they have an immediate advantage — both physically and psychologically.”
Immortals and K-Swiss plan to document the entire design process and broadcast it on social media channels, in case anyone is interested in seeing how a sneaker gets made.
