Kendall Jenner's 284 million followers assumed her first Instagram post of 2026 would reveal her New Year's Eve look. Instead, she rang in the new year by spotlighting her new Asics sneakers in a mid-workout photoshoot.
The model's Sunday sweat session began with a skintight matching Adanola set. Then came a sartorial plot twist: extra chunky trainers.
Jenner could've completed her chocolate monochrome look with the brown sneaker trend—specifically, her suede Dries Van Noten sneakers. However, the $600 sneakerinas traded places with $130 Asics GT-2160 sneakers. They're her chunkiest pair since Dec. 2024. (Jenner's shoe rack only boasts one other model from the Japanese brand: the Gel Flux 4s.)
Not a single scuff scratched the stark white soles, suggesting they joined Jenner's collection in recent weeks. (Perhaps they appeared beneath her Christmas tree.) The curved sidewalls, mesh uppers, and metallic silver stripes also looked fresh from the shoe box, especially alongside Adanola ankle socks. Black shadows added dimension to the silver-and-white color, just like its circa-2012 predecessor, the GT-2000 running shoe.
Thanks to street style stars, including Kaia Gerber, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Anya Taylor-Joy, Asics were the underdog sneaker of 2025. Bulkier, dad-core models persisted in a sea of skinny Onitsuka Tigers (Asics's lifestyle label). In May, just two months after Kendall, Kylie Jenner tested Asics's Gel-Kayano 14 sneaker. Few options in the brand's catalog outdo them in terms of platformed height. Still, the mesh sidewalls make them surprisingly lightweight.
The Gel-Kayanos originally retailed for $130 around the Dec. 2020 launch date, but now, they'd set you back almost $600. The Jenner Effect is so powerful, Kendall's GT-2160 could share the same fate.
Jenner only wore Asics sneakers once in 2025, but this year, she's making up for lost time. Knowing her, she already signed up for her first 2026 Pilates class, where she'll model the new Asics in action. Soon, everyone else at the studio will follow suit.
