Because the process of creating a shoe typically begins two years in advance, it can be difficult to think about much other than the future. Most of the legwork on what’s current has already been done, and product of the past is even more remote.

To avoid dulling the excitement of a shoe release, Ronnie Fieg won’t allow himself to wear it until it’s time to present to the public.

In a rare opportunity to look back, the Kith founder has partnered with Assouline to compile a book that documents 1,848 shoe collaborations from the brand’s 15-year history with Adidas, Asics, Clarks, New Balance, Nike, On and more.

Just like a shoe, work on the 15th anniversary compendium began two years ago by physically gathering all of the pairs. Most had already been preserved by an archivist, but a few strays had to be tracked down before they could all be laid out across the 20,000-square-foot second floor of Kith‘s office (prior to it being built out).

“I got to walk around that space and see all of my work for the first time in one place,” Fieg told Footwear News. “That was really an emotional period for me. The way that I remember certain milestones in my life — like when my child was born, when I got married, certain store openings and trips I’ve taken — they all go back to the reference of the footwear releases for me.” They’re the most substantial indicators of that time.”

Kith: The Footwear Archive is split into two sections, the first featuring 776 pairs of shoes that went on sale and the second featuring an additional 1,072 made up of unreleased prototypes and friends-and-family exclusives.

Among the second section are the Blazer, Blazer Lows and Air Force 1 Lows Nikes made exclusively for Fieg’s wedding party. In the first comes a shoe tied to both a professional and personal life milestone, the Asics Gel-Lyte 5 “Salmon Toe” that released for Kith’s 10th anniversary and came in the same year as the birth of his first daughter, Maia.

The original Gel-Lyte 3 “Salmon Toe” dropped during Kith’s first store opening on Sept. 30, 2010 and has influenced Asics collaborations at every five-year mark. A 2.0 iteration with distinct sole coloring dropped in 2016, and this month’s commemorative releases will include a remastering of the shoe with a new “Fieg” logo in Asics font on the heel and a toe tip made of real leather suede rather than the synthetic used 15 years ago.

Fieg says the synthetic always bothered him because he hadn’t realized at the time that, because it’s thinner than real suede, it would be more prone to folding and wrinkling, a major pet peeve of his that then causes him to stop wearing the shoe.

“It has to do with getting older and being more particular,” Fieg said about knowing better today. “The sophistication has changed a bit, and the shoe is also a bit less saturated, which I think makes it a lot easier to wear.”

Seeing the progression of Kith’s collaborations was another highlight of putting together this book for Fieg, which doesn’t necessarily need to be a qualitative assesment. But when asked if he’s gotten better as a designer over a decade and a half, Fieg said, “exponentially,” and added: “I consider myself fortunate to have the education that I have, which is the curiosity to see everything, and I get to see everything. I don’t take that for granted.”

Kith: The Footwear Archive will first release during an exhibition showing all 1,848 shoes open Sept. 25 to Sept. 27 at 25 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. A global launch will then follow Sept. 30 through Kith’s stores, website and app, with Assouline boutiques getting stock beginning Dec. 9.

An “Ultimate Edition” limited to 300 individually numbered copies signed by Fieg with a leather clamshell box debossed with Kith’s logo will also launch Sept. 30 exclusively through Assouline boutiques.