Concepts X New Balance 997 (Rosé)
Yo Deon, what’s up in the world of Concepts?
Concepts is busy! We are preparing to open our New York location in November. The initial launch will coincide with the drop of the ‘Rosé’ New Balance 997. We are also building our line for 2015. Starting this Fall, we will have more consistent clothing drops moving forward too.
How have you seen the year in sneakers so far?
Honestly, I haven’t been particularly excited about anything yet. There have been some highlights, but for the most part everything seems to lack energy.
What’s your take on colabs? How many is too many?
I think we are past the ‘too many’ stage at this point. Certain companies are working on projects based off just having an account. There are stores deserving and there are stores that think an idea alone is reason enough. We feel as if both parties involved should bring something to the table and that’s not always the case these days.
Tell us about your new New Balances.
This particular New Balance was a long time coming. Our team wanted to do something that justified the price point. We wanted a luxury theme but with a different spin so we chose a ‘rosé’ suede with an embossed 3M croc tongue. The idea of Rosé champagne seemed fitting and we loved the packaging of the Piper Heidsieck croc-embossed bottle. The fit-out of the NY location will help us communicate the inspiration to consumers as well, so we are excited to take it a step up. When we first started incorporating custom packaging it was unique. These days, it seems as though a lot of stores are following suit, so naturally we wanted to take it up another notch.
Good to see you’re in touch with your feminine side.
[Laughs] This particular suede not only fell in line with our inspiration, but really drew us in. We toned it down a bit with 3M, but trust me, it still has plenty of volume!