For decades Nike, Jordan and Adidas have dominated the sneaker game. A few brands have come in and out over time and get honourable mentions like Reebok, Fila, Onitsuka Tiger and Gucci.
As fashion evolves and styles change there’s comes a new balance, no, literally New Balance. With the dominance of the dad shoe this has now become a regular in style guides and on the fashion high street. With a new look and line up of superstar ambassadors such as Kawhi Leonard, Sadio Mané, Storm Reid and IU, it’s time we welcome them to the sneaker conversation. They’re not grail status yet but there’s something for everyone, who knows what the Sneaker Gods have in store for them. Only time will tell.
Let’s take a look at their line up and put a name to the silhouettes that caught your eye but you were too afraid to ask for their name.
New Balance 550
Their classic basketball shoe worn by pros back in the day recently celebrated it’s 30th anniversary by coming back into the sneaker world. Designed by Steve Smith the ‘Godfather of dad shoes’, sneakerheads are recognising this as the first entry point into NB. It has already seen a few big name collaborations with Rich Paul and Justin Bieber’s Aimé Leon Dore. Rest assu red there’s more to come.
New Balance 327
Keeping to their running roots with the classic design and materials but reshaped for lifestyle. If this looks familiar, it’s because you probably saw it when you were walking around Soho, bar hopping in Shoreditch, or brunching in Clapham… basically everywhere! It’s no stranger to collabs neither. Comfort and style combined.
NB Numeric
Did you know NB has a skate shoe range? And they’re fire! Few sport brands have made as smooth of an entry into the half pipe when crossing over but this has been a solid run. Shape, materials, practicality, it’s no wonder they’ve got a whole team of skaters on board, Tiago Lemos and Jamie Foy to name a few. Look smooth riding goofy with these.
New Balance 57/40
If there was a shoe designed for the modern times, this is it. Usually you’d stay away from chasing the trend but the 57/40 took the risk and timed it just right. The evolution of the dad shoe but without the dad jokes. Hope you’re not the same shoe size as your dad, because these are too hard to resist.
XC72
Ever wondered what an athleisure shoe might look like? An experimental innovation using a sleek running shoe base, softer shoe materials and outsole traction gives it both style and versatility. Ready for the gym and good to complete an outfit, the XC72 is ready for multiple occasions.
New Balance OMN1S Kawhi
Yes, this is a performance basketball shoe without a Swoosh or Jump Man on it. A high quality and very versatile one at that. It made the top of many basketball ball shoes of the year lists and these were the shoes 2 time NBA Champion Kawhi Leonard wore when he hit THAT shot over Joel Embiid in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
See a shoe you like but can’t find it in store? You’ll have better luck on StockX, the official verified sneaker resell market you can trust.
