New Balance’s new sneaker is just a fruit punch in disguise
A sneaker that looks like it was designed by a confused fruit bowl.
The story
New Balance released a new colorway for the 983 sneaker, with more variants coming. The design features red, gray, and plum details, and the shoe is marketed as a lifestyle item.
Source: wwd.com
Our reading
New Balance has quietly launched a new colorway for its 983 sneaker, which is basically a retro-futuristic shoe that looks like it was designed by a committee of 1990s tech bros and a confused interior decorator. The Shadow Red/Pebble version is supposed to be a ‘contrasting’ look, but honestly, it just looks like someone tried to make a sneaker out of a neon fruit punch. The real kicker? The Abzorb SBS cushioning pods are colored to match the previous blue version, which is like wearing a matching set of socks with a suit—confusing, but somehow still aspirational. The 983 is meant to be a ‘retro-informed everyday lifestyle shoe,’ which is just fashion code for ‘something you can wear to a coffee shop and also a tech conference, as long as you don’t look too hard at the logo.’
