New Balance Autumn/Winter 2014 – Part 2

Following on from a previous post of A/W 2014 Leaks, here are some more unseen pairs via hanon shop which will be available to pre-order from September 1st, and releasing in October sometime.

I had already posted a few of the Made in USA pairs on the previous post, but here we get to see them in all their glory with the clean stock pictures, and that 1300 is still looking superb.

New Balance 1300DGR –

New Balance 998BK and 998DO –

Continuing on with the 577 25th Anniversary vibe for this year, NB are dropping more colourways, and that shape somehow seems to be getting better with time, which is always good news.

New Balance 577SGB and 577STK –

Along with the 577, one of my favourite Flimby made models is the 670, but maybe for the last year or so, there haven’t really been any eye-catching colourways and the shape has never been close to comparable to some of the pre-2010 stuff. However, these two upcoming colourways get the thumbs up from me.

New Balance 670SBG and 670SGK –

As well as the above shoes, I was just browsing hanon shop website and realised that they have a few others up for pre-order but don’t actually have any pictures of them. The Gentleman’s Choice 1500’s are there too for £145, 1500GMN and 1500GMB respectively.

Here’s the pics via End Clothing:

New Balance 1500GMN –

New Balance 1500GMB –

New Balance 1300BK –

New Balance 574BG –

There’ll be some more A/W 14 pairs to drop in the following months so as soon as they hit pre-order, I’ll upload a blog post for them. Keep an eye out.

LEAKS! – New Balance Autumn/Winter 2014

Following on from the last post, I checked out this collection back in April, and it’s taken a long time for some pictures to show up on the internet, but nevertheless, they did, so check them out below.

Again, we see more of the same from New Balance USA, but that pair of 1300’s really caught my eye, and I’m looking forward to checking them out in person. We also see New Balance sticking with some denim on another 1300 make-up.

Stay tuned on my blog for when more pictures become available.

 

All images via The Shoe Game.

LEAKS! – New Balance Spring/Summer 2015

There’s been a few times that I’ve sat down and wrote a couple of pieces about ‘leaks’, but I’ve never actually posted one. It’s a touchy subject for all brands/stores together, and for people who initiate leaks when they’re not meant to that represent the brand/store, well, I can’t imagine they’d be in their employer’s good books.

However, it is 2014 and the world has been engulfed in social media, whether it be Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever other social platform there is, so it’s pretty inevitable that leaks are going to happen. It’s not all bad though as the consumer love leaks, and that’s no word of a lie. There’s nothing the next man wants more than a sneak peak at an upcoming collaboration with a store, or a couple of their favourite models from a brand’s unreleased collection let slip and up for sale on eBay. It creates a huge amount of anticipation, and excitement amongst everyone and keeps them talking, which surely for the most part is good for the brand.

Anyway, that’s a discussion for another time, I just wanted a brief introduction before I let loose some of these samples for New Balance Spring/Summer 2015 Collection, which were advertised for sale on eBay and Klekt. This was a month or so ago and they’ve been populating the world wide web ever since, so this isn’t exactly the first time they’ve been seen.

So what’s in store for Spring/Summer 2015? I had seen various pairs from this collection a couple of months before they surfaced on the internet, and only a few had really caught my eye.

Made in USA –

More of the same, that’s for sure, the New Balance 997 is sticking around for a while, and although I welcomed back this model with open arms, much like the 990, it seems like it’s going down the same road – at least two colourways every season, and then throw in a couple of collaborations. The word ‘overkill’ springs to mind, I’d of been more than happy sticking with the grey and navy pairs, then maybe a couple more.

New Balance 997DOL –

 

New Balance 997JNB –

On-to the New Balance 990 now, and just recently this model was made available on the US New Balance site for customisation, so now the possibilities are endless – material choices are currently limited to just suede and mesh.

We’ve seen a lot of ‘Premium Packs’ if you must, with a bunch of standard NB pack names to go along with them, ‘Connoisseurs’, ‘Distinct’, ‘Author’, etc etc etc, so we will be welcoming the Horween Leather 990 very soon.

New Balance 990CRD –

New Balance 990BHR –

What more can we expect from the Made in USA side of things for Spring/Summer 2015? Well, the New Balance 998 firmly holds it’s place in the USA collection, along with maybe another 997, a premium 990 which looks really good, but the most exciting news about S/S 2015 is the USA Bringback Collection.

The USA Bringback collection will consist of the 990GRY, which you may remember was released not too long ago for it’s 30th anniversary, so if you missed out then you’ll have another chance to grab them. Along with that will also be a grey 998, possibly very similar, if not the same as the pair which Roadrunner Sports have been releasing for the last few years, and finally, the 1300JP (5 years since it’s last release), probably the most anticipated shoe from the USA collection.

Made in UK –

The Made in UK side of New Balance is my forte, but for the last few years, it’s all been pretty poor in my opinion, and that’s not just because of the shape issue, the colourways and materials haven’t exactly been up to scratch when you compare them with what Flimby were capable of pre-2010.

The usual UK models making an appearance, but not much to really talk about. A while back we seen some pics of the ‘Gentleman’s Choice’ Pack and you can see one of the 1500’s in all of their glory below.

New Balance 577SMO –

New Balance 1500GMN –

New Balance 1500SG –

New Balance 1500NAV –

New Balance 576PGT –

Much like the Made in USA collection, Flimby have also been working on some premium packs, and one of them worth noting, probably only because of the 1500, which is guaranteed to be a winner with everyone. The only picture I can share is of the pack in the colours of the ‘Union Jack’, the red 1500, blue CT300 and the tip of the toebox of the white 577.

Once the pre-orders are up at all the usual retailers, I will compile another post of both collections. Until then, enjoy speculating, I’m sure more leaks/teasers will appear soon.

New Balance 577 – 25th Anniversary

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally got my hands on both pairs of the New Balance 577, which were created for the 25th Anniversary of this model. The 577 is widely regarded as one of the most treasured New Balance silhouettes, and a staple piece of the Flimby Factory in the UK, where it has been made for the last 25 years. Apparently the 577 has appeared in 132 different make ups since it was first released, and this number in actual fact probably seems fair because if you even begin to name some of the collaborations, limited editions and general release colourways, then it tallies up pretty quickly.

Anyway, for the 25th Anniversary, New Balance have revisited two OG colourways, in theory, they are the NG and GNA, but for the purpose of the anniversary, these specific pairs are ANN and ANG, respectively.

The New Balance 577ANN has a navy upper, and the 577ANG has a grey upper, both of which are made from supple suede and some shiny breathable mesh, along with a navy N, contrast 3M, and all sat on top of an Encap midsole with some vintage yellowing.

So, moving on from the first appearances to the stuff that people want to know, and some of the nice touches that you wouldn’t get on a normal pair of 577NG or GNA.

Each pair comes with a special anniversary box, which is decked out in white, along with a white dustbag, and a spare navy lace set. The shoe also has a plush leather lining, that we’ve come to grow fond of on the more premium pairs, and it looks and feels great on these two as well.

 

Add in the fact that New Balance, and more so Flimby seem to be heading back on track with regards to the shape of the 577, then we’re on to a winner – although, there is still room for improvement, not just on the toe box, but the panelling also.

One thing that may seem a little strange to some is the Encap piece on the upper. Most people probably remember seeing this feature on older US Made 577’s, but it did also feature on older UK Made pairs, however, they are much rarer to come across these days. Nevertheless, it looks good!

Check out some more pictures below, and I’ll update the post and/or create a new one when I get some more on-foot shots.

New Balance 577RRK + 577OOK

The New Balance 577 is a classic archive running shoe from the 80’s, and a must have in any collection, so the fact that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the model, it’s only right that we see some stunning colourways, and some other special releases.

We’ve been screaming out for some 577 goodness, especially because we’ve seen so many stunning pairs release in years gone by. However, in recent times, this model, much like most of the Flimby made product, has been let down by the shape. This seems to be an on-going issue but it looks like we are finally seeing some improvements, which is a massive plus for us!

The first two colourways of the 577 to drop this year were the 577RRK and the 577OOK, and we will take a closer look at both of them here. First off, both are Made in England at the famous Flimby factory and they both share extremely similar colourways. The 577OOK is decked out in an orange and black upper, and the 577RRK in a red and black upper, with both pairs using a combination of a premium suede upper and mesh underlays. We see an unusual style of colour blocking on these pairs, almost a tale of two halves if you must, with the front and middle portion of the shoes wielding either the red or orange, and the rear of the shoe has been blacked out except for the heel tab. Both pairs feature a two-piece N with black backer, traditional heel counter and the shoes are sat on the iconic 577 ENCAP sole unit.

As mentioned previously, one of the first things we look for is shape, and the improvements are very noticeable. We’ve seen a toe puff creep into all UK models in the past couple of years, and it creates structure and support, but it is a little too defined and leaves the toe box looking excessively bulky. However, in these two pairs, we don’t have a toe puff, merely just the upper material, but through the use of what looks and feels like a side shaper, this keeps the toe box stretched and therefore we have a much sharper shape.

These two New Balance 577’s are a great start to this iconic models anniversary year, and we are eagerly waiting to see what else New Balance release.