New Balance Blog

As covered previously the new NB 1400 “Fanzine” collection by Super Team 33 officially drops today. The select 33 retailers include Shoe Biz (US), Sportie LA (US), Sold Out (France), Hanon Shop (UK), Limited Edt (Singapore).

NB M1400 Super Team 33 Fanzine Collection

Established in 2001, Parisian communications agency and all-around urban trend setter, La MJC is celebrating its 6th birthday this summer. To mark the occasion, it is releasing another New Balance 1500 with Colette. This one is made in the UK and limited to 190 pairs worldwide. Release date is July 7th exclusively at the Colette shop in Paris and online at Sold Out.

Notable is the heavy use of “black carbon” material from the Flimby UK factory, matched with the gray suede that is the hallmark of NB running sneakers. For the first time the 1500 will feature an all-fuchsia sole to match one of the dominant colors on lamjc.com. Included in the package are both black and fuchsia laces. The lining and inner sole are made of black leather for added comfort and style.

Via LA MJC

High Snobiety reports:

“We’re proud to present you the first collaboration between New Balance and Thomas I Punkt. Their goal was to design a running shoe for people who like a fresh, new look and appreciate the little details. For this project they chose the New Balance 577, simply because it is a classic.

Everything started with a combination of grey heather sweat fabric and white full grain leather. New Balance exclusively fabricated an all white midsole and a heelcab with a light grey outsole. Each version carries a silkscreen dot pattern print.

The flaglabel on the tongue shows the skyline of the city of Hamburg, Germany, home of Thomas I Punkt. We love how the purple heel, the coloured stitching, the New Balance logo and the flaglabel perfectly fit together. They also decided to use a leather layer on the inside of the shoe to make it even more comfortable.

The white edition is limited to 120 pairs and the dots edition is limited to 74 pairs. Both shoes are numbered and come with two different laces and an I-Punkt dot pattern bandana. The sneakers will be released at Thomas I Punkt on 30th of June.”

The American Football World Cup 574s in the style of the Japanese (M574MAF J), Swedish (M574MAF S) and American (M574MAF U) flags are now available at Japanese shops such as the Flauge store at ZOZOTOWN and Shoe Planet. Here are some nicer pics than we saw previously.

Details include embroidered sakura (cherry blossoms) on the tongue of the Japanese model and touches of patent leather.

The trio is reportedly scheduled for a domestic US release on July 4th for USD $65.

M574MAF S & J

M574MAF S

M574MAF J

M574MAF U

Via SXH

The plot thickens! Here’s the second leaked pic of the forthcoming NB collaboration with Sweden’s Sneakersnstuff. Expect these to drop in mid-to-late August.

Looks like Erik’s colorway on the left and Peter’s on the right..?

Previously on NBB

Via SlamXHype

NB M1400 Super Team 33 Fanzine Collection

The next quarterly release from New Balance’s Super Team 33 manufacturing group will be out July 20, 2007 for USD $200. The design comes from NB Europe who have chosen zines as their inspiration. Remember the time before weblogs? Fanzines are of course DIY print publications created by fans and for fans purely “for the love” of a particular music artist, fashion or other pop culture phenomenon. Made with scissors, tape, glue, staples, photocopiers, typewriters, desktop printers and other cheap and quick production methods, they have served a critical role in disseminating youth subculture.

M1400FZ1 - White

M1400FZ2 - Blue

M1400FZ3 - Red

“”Fanzines are created through the passion and care of an individual with a message and an audience,” says Robert Ward, EMEA lifestyle category manager at New Balance. “In a similar way this New Balance ST33 collection has been crafted with the same passion and care as the writers invested in their early fanzines. These shoes are all still individually handmade with a strong sense of craftsmanship and pride, just like an old stapled and photocopied fanzine.”

The Fanzine 1400’s feature a combination of premium full grain leathers and intricate printed materials. The rich, supple premium aniline leathers used on the shoes were selected to represent the high quality of the collection and the New Balance brand. The punch perforations in the vamp and midsole symbolize the heavily inked dots the period key on old typewriters would leave when typing onto fanzine paper. The shoe colors were chosen based on the most commonly used fanzine paper stock - fanzine writers typically use brightly colored paper stock as the type/text itself is always black, so red and blue paper is often used to give the fanzine a more colorful, high quality, eye-catching appearance. The “do it yourself” nature of fanzines is incorporated into the ST33 shoes through a variety of languages, illustrating the global nature of the collection and the fanzine concept.”
–New Balance

The ST33 production group in Skowhegan, Maine counts only 28 members and practices domestic vertical manufacturing. They create the shoes by hand, going from cutting to packing in a single day, and ship directly from the factory itself. The “33″ indicates that the shoes are sold at only 33 select retailers worldwide.

The first ST33 release was the American-designed fish collection, followed by the Stingray collection designed by NB Japan. Next up is New Balance’s Asia/Pacific group whose ST33 release will be out in Q4 2007.

Read more

SlamXHype reports that Sneakersnstuff (SNS) over in Stockholm, Sweden have leaked a couple of pics of a forthcoming collab with New Balance. SXH’s guess is a 577 and I’d be inclined to agree b/c of the distinctive shape between the toebox and the N.

You can sign up for news alerts on this particular release here.

Sneakersnstuff’s Peter x NB 577

Sneakersnstuff’s Erik x NB 577

June is definitely the time to be shopping New Balance at Hanon Shop as you stand to win one of four hefty prize packages. The stakes are high with the grand prize weighing in at a value of USD $1000! Lots of rare bits are included in the prize packs such as ST33 Fish shoes, NB branded accessories, a pair of Hanon’s M576BWY blue/white/gold from a few years back, the Centenary book that shipped with the deluxe 100th year combo packs, even a Centenary china plate and a 576 floor rug (pictured below).

Also worth mentioning is Hanon’s clearance sale from Friday June 15th - Monday 18th 2007 with warehouse deadstock priced at wholesale, and New Balance is included in the list of sale brands. Don’t sleep, Hanon has some amazing custom models still available in assorted sizes.

More info on the giveaway…

“Place an order throughout the month of June and you will be automatically entered into a hanon X New Balance BIG PRIZE give away! We have 4 prizes on offer as featured below. All entries will be dropped into a hat and the winning names will be announced in July.

1st Prize: Approximate value 500GBP
New Balance hardback Centenary Book (This book cannot be purchased and produced only as an New Balance inhouse item)
Super Team 33 Neonfish US 9.5
Super Team 33 Butterflyfish US 9.5
Super Team 33 Clownfish US 9.5
New Balance Centenary Clock
Super team 33 T-shirt Size M or L
NB phone pouch
NB phone cleaner
Centenary Playmobil set

2nd Prize: Approximate Value 200GBP
New Balance hardback Centenary Book
hanon M576BWY 1st edition US 9.5
New Balance Centenary Clock
Super Team 33 T-Shirt Size M or L
NB Phone Cleaner
Centenary Playmobil Set

3rd Prize: Approximate Value 100GBP
New Balance M576 floor rug
New Balance Centenary Clock
Super Team 33 silk screened T-Shirt Size M or L
NB Phone Cleaner

4th Prize: Runner up packs.
A selective mix consisting of
Centenary poster
NB Phone Cleaner
Centenary china plate

Prize 1 - 3 are individual prizes only. The 4th prize will go out to as many packs as we can muster.

More pics to follow…

Good luck!”

Via Hanon

Fresh New Balance Limited Edition 1500 heat is out at SoldOut! This model is part of the “European Collective” program and makes use of a variety of materials: croc skin, mesh, premium leather and suede. Note the contrast stitching, perforated toebox, use of mesh and two sets of laces. “Very rare and limited to only a few stores.”

Price at this time is € 110. Available US Sizes: 7, 8, 8.5, 9, 10, 11… although I’m sure they are going fast.

Via EUKicks

Another “cargo-inspired” 1500 like the BCW, KCW, OCW is out at Overkill (€150) and Hanon (£90). This one is beige (or grey?) and red-brown.

“From New Balance. Premium edition. Cargo inspired. Upper consists of enzyme washed cotton, outdoor canvas and full grain leather. Eva midsole. Bonded rubber outsole.”

Pics and info via Hanon.