Welcome to ASICS’ City Ambassador Program, where we are spotlighting three individuals honouring creativity through mindfulness and movement. Head to the hub here to find out more.
To celebrate the newly released edition of its iconic GT-2160™ sneaker, ASICS has looked to cities across Europe to find unique and authentic storytellers who embody ‘Ikigai’ (生き甲斐) – a Japanese concept that relates to finding a sense of purpose through one’s passions, missions, professions, and vocations.
Based in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris, each city ambassador represents a new generation of creatives using their passions to create a connection between their mind and body. Following Amalia Taleï, an Amsterdam-based artisanal chocolatier, this week our focus shifts to ASICS ambassador, Manon Bouquet, a dancer and choreographer based in Paris.
Courtesy of ASICS
Born in Roquevaire, a small town in the South of France, Bouquet always knew she wanted to be a dancer. Since the age of four, she recounts explaining to her parents that she would pursue a career in dance when she got older. “My parents are doctors so it was not a career I was familiar with,” she explains. “I just knew that I wanted to dance all my life. From four to 17, I would always go to school and right after go to a dance studio, [I was] working so hard on my techniques for classical, jazz and modern jazz.”
After finishing school, Bouquet traded her town for the capital in search of something more. “Paris was the only city with opportunities. I trained for six months in a dance school then at 18 got my first job pretty soon,” she recalls. Soon enough, Bouquet began exploring a whole new world of dance she now had access to. She began discovering new styles, entering new worldwide workshops and competitions, alongside auditioning for tours, musical shows, and music videos.
GT-2160 White/Pure Silver
The GT-2160 sneaker pays homage to the technical design language from the GT-2000 series. This rendition preserves key features including its sleek aesthetic, wavy forefoot sculpting and GEL technology inserts.
Two years ago, she landed her big break touring with Belgian singer Angèle, who she has since gone on to choreograph music videos for. “It's been a few years since I started choreographing because I needed to,” she said, discussing the evolution of her journey. “I wanted to share some thoughts, to write, to process, and to share in another way. I am closer and closer to my sense of self, so I am in dance too, and this research into myself is deeper with choreography.”
While years later Paris remains her main base, Bouquet found splitting her time between the chaos of a big city and now Marseille has allowed space to remain mindful and grounded in her practices. “Marseille means family, nature, sea, breathe, resource and relief. Paris means friends, dance, excitement, creation, training, work, craziness, motivation. That's how I balance my life with all of these different sensations, different people, different situations, and different qualities,” she says.
Seen stretching in her GT-2160™ trainers, Manon's campaign images embody the very essence of ASICS' brand ethos. As an homage to the GT-2000™ series from the early 2010s, the GT-2160™ acts as a vessel for honouring mindfulness through movement.
Watch Manon's campaign video below to find out more about how she stays grounded and what a sound mind in a sound body means to her.
Read more about ASICS' city ambassadors here and shop the ASICS Vintage Tech Collection here.
