New Balance Blog

Mita Japan now has a crocodile 1700 in black and white. The 1700 is a premium running shoe that was introduced in 1999. “Paid in the shade, with some fly gators on…”

Via Kicksaholic

More info and release dates on this year’s reissue of the classic NB 320 courtesy of Xymon! It’s not clear whether these dates are Asia-only or worldwide though.

“The classic runner is back! Starting from April, NB drops the legendary runner that gained unprecedented fame for the brand and catapulted them to the forefront of modern athletic shoe design.
Rated #1 in Runners World 1976 for “fit” and “comfort” over Brooks, Onitsuka, adidas, Puma, Saucony etc, these shoes were found on the athletes to the common man due to the rise of the running for fitness trend around the time.
The elevated wedge and midsole combination elevates the heel and reduces shock on heel strike; the molded heel counter prevent rotation and lateral slippage, thus eliminating irritation and blistering; and of course it came in multiple widths.
It also heralded the role of Terry Heckler on the branding of New Balance: He
1) argued for the performance look of the shoe, leaving behind the “nursing home adidas look” of the Trackster;
2) stuck a huge big N on the side, slyly making people think it was a Nike; and
3) started the numbering system for the shoe model, thereby giving equal status to each shoe and not superstar treatment.

The following are the upcoming releases [release dates accurate as of print, check with your local stores/distributor for more information]”

April 2007 — CM320GBO, CM320GSB, CM320GGB

May — CM320RD Red, CM320YL Yellow, CM320PK Pink

June — CM320GR Green, CM320BL Blue

July — CM320OR Orange, CM320NY Navy

September — CM320TR, CM320WN

This classy, made-in-UK 576 in brown and cream with green highlights has a leather and waxed cotton upper. I saw these in person at Frontier about a month ago and the waxed parts have the effect of crinkled paper. The pictures don’t quite do it justice! Also available at End Clothing.

Via End Clothing

The retro 410 reissue has dropped at New Balance Japan in not only the classic blue but also white, green and grey. The “U” indicates this is a unisex model.

U410JWRE

U410JPIN

U410JGRE

Via NB Japan

Update from Hanon about their forthcoming collab (previously on NBB). It’s been revealed to be a 990 model with a release date of Saturday April 28. Looks like a gold “N” on a black upper with and some emergency orange in there.. my kind of colors!

“We are proud to present the hanon M990HSN

An intro to Schoeller Technologies

Our latest venture with New Balance is a three way collaboration that incorporates fabric innovations by Schoeller on the classic M990 running shoe. Schoeller is a Swiss based company known for producing high technology textiles. Their fabrics are ’smart’ highly functional and technically outstanding. Products can be offered in synthetic, natural or mixed fabrics with the look and feel of cotton whilst offering state of the art functionality.

hanon M990HSN and 3XDRy

The hanon M990 is constructed with a Schoeller 3XDRY encapsulated sock upper. 3Xdry is a treatment applied to technical fabrics that deals predominantly with 3 areas.

1. Moisture management
2. Stimulates cooling effect
3. Repels water and stains.

3xDry transports mositure quickly. From the inside to the outside. High breathability and the wicking management effect prevents shivering or over sweating after active phases as persipration cannot be trapped in the fabric. 3Xdry also repels mositure from the outside and is less susceptible to soiling or marking. The technology allows the fabric to dry in a flash after washing or contact with water.

The hanon M990HSN will be released on Saturday April 28th. Keep checking back for more pics, spec and launch information.”

Via SlamXHype and Hanon

Another nice new arrival at End — a 574 in Black/Brown/Silver and Black/Silver, featuring “mixed material upper including premium leathers and suede and a gum sole.”

The RC410 reissue is now available at End Clothing, UK in white/blue and blue/white/red. Price is GBP £45 (USD $84), sizes UK 7-11.

This classic, lightweight, low-profile running shoe from the early 1980’s features a nylon upper and rubber gum sole and has just been reissued by New Balance for Spring/Summer 2007.

Via End Clothing

From Dylan Adair, the Montreal-based designer of the Joy Division NB customs:

“So…. I’ve watched these photos get posted on a few sites now and I think that it’s time to put some things to rest. I did these NB customs, and the Nike Blazer was my work as well. The blazer was done in late 2005 as my contribution to Sneakerpimps when the expo stopped in my hometown of Montreal, Canada. The main impetus for doing the project was that I felt that a lot of “themed” shoes were pretty weak in terms of the story that they were trying to tell. I set about trying to incorporate as much detail to the shoes as Peter Saville, 8VO, or Johnson Panas would have put into any of the Factory releases. The shoe was my way of commemorating 25 years since Ian Curtis had passed. I had a blast doing it and listening to JD, ACR, NO, Durutti, etc. while I was working on it. That’s it.

- I was asked by NB to customize a pair of 576’s after they saw the Blazers. I re-did the white Unknown Pleasures concept and the Black and Green look was inspired by the Substance ‘87 album cover.
- From what I have been told, they (NB) are passing on the project. The shoes are a one-off prototype, and will stay that way…
- New Order are keen to do something concurrent with the release of the film Control, so who knows what will pop up this year. From what I gather, they liked the shoe.
- Is Ian rolling in his grave… likely.
- Did he roll in his grave when Supreme used JD/NO artwork in 2005 and Raf Simons did in 2003? - Likely.
- This was as much about reaffirming Saville’s influence on me as a designer as my love of the band.
- There was a Hacienda inspired treatment for a Nike Stab as well.

Thanks for the lively discussion.”

Via CT Forums

We just saw the New Balance A01, here’s the A02 in black and rasta colors. It appears these are modified 576’s with a one-piece vamp, the new style of painted “N”s we saw in the Fall 2007 preview, denim fabrics, high-contrast stitching and a graffiti-style “New Balance” on the heel.

A02 BK (Black)

A02 RST (Rasta)

Via Tsuruya

Tsuruya is selling the A01 in pink (A01 CP) and yellow (A01 CY) [looks like more yellow than green to me at least]. Looks like they dropped today along with the A02 — more on that in a sec.
A01 CP

A01 CY