Brands
Jurassic sole Asics and doublet let dinosaurs loose on sneakers
MUMBAI: When sneakers bite back, you know fashion has gone full Jurassic. Asics Sportstyle has teamed up with Japanese fashion label doublet to launch the Gel-Quantum 360 I AMP, a playful, high-concept sneaker that brings the “world of the Jurassic period” to the street.
The collaboration leans unapologetically into spectacle. A bold graphic of a dinosaur’s head stretches across the upper, rendered using 3D printing to create a textured, reptilian skin-like surface. Adding to the illusion, three-dimensionally placed polyurethane elements make it appear as though the dinosaur’s outline is quite literally rising out of the shoe.
While the design is theatrical, the engineering stays true to Asics’ performance-led DNA. Beneath the prehistoric visuals lies the brand’s signature moulding precision and functional sports technology, blending technical credibility with doublet’s irreverent fashion language.
The storytelling extends to the sole. Inspired by the colours of dinosaur teeth and gums, the outsole reveals its cleverest trick when both shoes are brought together. Move the toes, and the pair appears to open and shut like a chomping dinosaur jaw, turning a simple foot movement into a visual gag.
Designed to inject play into everyday wear, the Gel-Quantum 360 I AMP invites sneakerheads to animate a dinosaur with every step. It’s a reminder that even the most ordinary moments can be transformed with a bit of imagination and in this case, a roar from the past.
With this collaboration, Asics SportStyle and doublet prove that performance footwear doesn’t have to take itself too seriously, especially when the end result lets Jurassic drama stomp straight into daily life.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
