Due to hit stores mid February, NB releases a tier 1, 320 in the states. These have been out in Japan and Europe but now will be easily accessed by stateside lovers of the classic. Both shoes will feature a combination suede and mesh upper, they are pretty tame considering the more recent colorways and colabs. In 1976 the 320 was Runners World Magazine #1 running shoe, followed by the Brooks Villanova and the NB 305.
CM320GB
CM320YG
Here are the two G-Shock watches that match the forthcoming KIKS TYO x G-Shock x New Balance collab (previously on NBB).
Via Random Ramblings
Crooked Tongues took part in the recent New Balance Shake! 320 night in Tokyo, collaborating on a one-off 320 and 574 for the occasion. It’s a shame these will never be released but here is their in-depth coverage of the experience…
“Lately the shelves have been crammed with some of the most garish shifts from New Balance’s once sober colour palette we’ve ever seen, with neon and fish scales aplenty. [Ed. – NBB does not condone fish-bashing! ;)] With this in mind, when we received the brief from hobby:tech and crew at KIKS TYO to go head to head with the Grey One and DQM teams on special one-off NBs, we accepted the challenge. No strangers to designing product to limited time limits, once we got the CADs of the shoes in question we were a little surprised – a 574 wouldn’t be too much trouble, but a 320? It’s definitely a classic – the forked toe panel and low profile design was a marathon-winning revolutionary product in the mid-70’s, and a shoe that connoisseurs like the Oi Polloi boys treat with reverence, yet it’s impossible to beat the dual-colour delight’s of the shoe’s heyday. But, seeing as the shoe was being celebrated in Japan with some tasty in-store displays at NB’s Tokyo store, it had to be part of this double act.”
“Naturally the duo had to have an underlying theme, and with a lot of love in the office for the simplicity of the palette that a shoe like the 850 carried. Simple, eye-catching and effective, rather than jogging breathlessly alongside hyperstrikes, coated in garish leathers in an effort to keep up. were the order of the day. The notion of shoe makeups that looked like performance releases of specific eras rather than the usual limited edition lifestyle fodder was optioned in original discussions regarding last year’s CT/NB quartet, but here, it made perfect sense. Alas, NBXCT embroidery toward the forefoot never made production due to issues regarding such blatant dual branding, but on seeing the final 320, designed in order that keeping the white toward the front would give them a cleaner look when teamed with jeans, and a Prestoesque appearance, we were glad that the omission was made.”
“In the flesh, we were shocked by how nicely our creations turned out. Serious attention to detail and faithfulness to our designs from the guys in the NB lab ensured beautiful leathers, some offbeat touches that still worked like the metallic heel panel on the 574s, and even the toebox fabric looked exactly as specified. The Crooked Tongues ‘classic colours’ lettering was faithfully reproduced on the footbeds and hangtags, to try to bring a little of the CT obsessiveness to take out our US ‘rivals’ but whereas the battle between NB’s regional releases has been fought online, in line with the brilliant unpredictability of Japan, we had to lyrically duke it out by drumming up support onstage in front of a crowded nightclub. Time will tell as to who’s the eventual winner, but sadly, regardless of the outcome, these two creations won’t be getting a release. But we’ll always have the memories. Well, the ones that the local brew and severe jet-lag didn’t erode. Thanks to all at KIKS TYO, Hiroki at Passover and New Balance Japan/UK for the opportunity…”
Via Crooked Tongues
Last Friday 8th June at Club Asia in Tokyo was New Balance’s official party for the relaunched 320 model (previously on NBB).
The night included custom 320s and 574s by top sneaker designers, brands and stores including Crooked Tongues (UK), Dave’s Quality Meat (NYC), and GreyOne x Dez (LA). There were also a number of DJs, live acts and dancers.
Here’s some exclusive photo coverage courtesy of Freshness. Photos by AKI. Big up Freshness and Kiks Tyo for the thorough coverage!
DJ hobby:tech
Tomoyuki Tanaka (Fantastic Plastic Machine)
Via Fatlace:
“Kiks TYO brought together Grey One, Crooked Tongues, KIKS TYO, DQM to help bring back the NB 320. Here’s some photos from the Sneaker Jack photoshoot held at the NB store in Tokyo (Harajuku).”
DQM x NB 320, 574
Crooked Tongues x NB 320, 574
Grey One (the black shoe on the left and the crew)
DQM track-inspired colorway. CF style material up on the toe.
Grey One, Crooked Tongues, DQM
Kiks Tyo x G-Shock x NB 320, 574 (previously on NBB)
NB folding bike
Photoshoot crew
Tokyo crew – this Friday 8th June don’t miss an official Shake 320 Design Competition night for the New Balance 320 reissue (previously on NBB). Competing will be heavyweights, Crooked Tongues (UK), Dave’s Quality Meat (NYC), and GreyOne x Dez (LA).
It runs from 10pm-5am with entertainment by DJs Fantastic Plastic Machine, hobby:tech, MIKAN and live acts YOU THE ROCK, EL AMAZON, LUV AND RESPONSE, YU.KI.KO and more.
See here for the full info.
If anyone makes it down please take some pics and hit me at steps #at# newbalance-blog.com!
Via NB Japan
Japanese streetwear label and retailer, KIKS TYO released today the first preview of their footwear collab with New Balance and G-Shock.
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Casio’s rugged and high-tech G-Shock watch line, the “G-Flash” series includes two pairs of NB 574s as well as a modified 320. The shoes match a pair of KIKS TYO x G-Shock watches to be released worldwide in August 2007.
Founded in 2006 by DJ, designer and streetwear/sneaker culture personality hobby:tech (Shinichi Izaki), KIKS TYO has since gained recognition worldwide for its dedication to producing well crafted, high-quality apparel and accessories based on sneakers and sport culture.
–KIKS TYO
The G-Flash 574 comes in a black/yellow and yellow/black colorway, the 320 in black/red. All three make use of paint-speckling on the leathers as well as custom lace locks. There appears to be some patent leather in there as well. I like these, the colors really pop and the designs are eye-catching without going overboard. Stay tuned for more info and pics.
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
The 320 gradient colorways as seen previously on NBB are in at Reed Space, Tokyo!
I’m not the biggest 320 fan but they did a great job of making these ones eye-catching while retaining the classic look and feel. Although the red vaguely reminds me of dudes who wear silk shirts with fire designs from Hot Topic.
Via EUKicks, HypeBeast, Reed Space
Skinner just introduced me to a Japanese site dedicated to the classic runner from the 70s, the CM320:
It’s a Flash site with history of the shoe, a catalog of reissued models, and video commentary on the shoe from graffiti artist Haze, NB Senior Developer Spencer Morrison and NB Designer Andrew Nyssen.
Nice! I’ll see if I can hook up an English translation for my fellow gaijin.
Via Skinner