Key Details
Price: $130Style Code: 1203B057-020Release Date: September 2026
- The ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet cuts away the entire forefoot, held together only by the laces.
- Retail is set at $130 per pair for Fall/Winter 2026.
- The release spans three colorways, including a “White/Silver” and a “Black” pair.
ASICS is turning the GEL-DS Trainer into a ballet shoe. The brand has stripped the forefoot off its GEL-DS Trainer running silhouette to build an open-toed, Y2K-inspired shoe for women, releasing it as the GEL-DS Trainer Ballet. Instead of a closed upper, thin laces are the only thing holding the front of the shoe together, giving the tech runner an actual ballet-flat profile.
ASICS has been building out this idea beyond a single collaboration. This pack follows the brand’s own Gohar World jewelry-accented take on the same GEL-DS Trainer platform, and it lands as New Balance and PUMA keep pushing their own performance-runner-meets-ballet-flat hybrids. The GEL-DS Trainer name has stretched into unexpected territory before, including Stefon Diggs’ “Play Shoe” version of the GEL-DS Trainer 14, though that release has no design connection to this women’s ballet build beyond the shared family name.
The ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet Design
The build keeps the GEL-DS Trainer’s familiar shape, including its layered side paneling and ASICS stripes. Sneaker News describes the mesh upper as paired with leather overlays, while Sneaker Bar Detroit describes those overlays as synthetic, but both agree the forefoot is cut away entirely, with laces doing all the work of holding the shoe on foot. Two colorways are detailed so far: a “White/Silver” pair mixing white mesh with silver overlays, and a “Black” pair that goes nearly monochrome with black mesh, glossy panels, and grey ASICS stripes. A third style, coded 1203B057-100, is also part of the release, though its color breakdown hasn’t been detailed yet. JustFreshKicks will update this post with official images of that third colorway once ASICS or its retail partners share them.
Why Is ASICS Turning the GEL-DS Trainer Into a Ballet Shoe?
It’s part of a wider Y2K-driven trend of brands reworking performance runners into open, ballet-flat silhouettes, following ASICS’ own Gohar World collaboration and similar moves from New Balance and PUMA.
ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet Release Information
The ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet is set for Fall/Winter 2026, with both Sneaker News and Sneaker Bar Detroit pointing to a September 2026 window and no exact date locked in yet. Retail is $130 per pair across women’s sizing, with Size? confirmed as a retail partner for the “White/Silver,” “Black,” and 1203B057-100 colorways.
ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet
Color: White/Silver, Black, and a third unconfirmed colorway
Style Code: 1203B057-020, 1203B057-001, 1203B057-100
Release Date: September 2026 (exact date TBA)
Price: $130
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet release?
It’s set for September 2026, within the broader Fall/Winter 2026 season, though ASICS hasn’t confirmed an exact date.
How much does the ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet cost?
It retails for $130 per pair.
Where can you buy the ASICS GEL-DS Trainer Ballet?
Size? is confirmed as a retail partner for the release.
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Photos: Size?, Eyes Magazine
