Aimé Leon Dore Salute New York with Their New Balance 993 Colabs

Teddy Santis' Aimé Leon Dore have become one of New Balance's most esteemed partners over the past year-plus, releasing a wide swath of elegant colabs ( 550s, 990v2s, 827s, 990v5s, the 1300s and the forthcoming 650), and Santis himself has even been named the creative director of New Balance's MADE in USA line. Now, the two are back with even more co-created product, namely a duo of takes on the 993.

First teased in Aimé Leon Dore's Fall/Winter '21 lookbook on the feet of Action Bronson and Mordechai 'Mr. Mort' Rubenstein, each pair nods to ALD's Queens, New York roots, one in an overt way and one in a fashion that's more niche. There's a brown, forest green and black pair that's clearly a nod to the famed 'beef & broc' workboots that are a part of any New York City winter, and a sail, purple, navy and black pair that may draw its inspiration from the colours of NYC subway cars in the 1990s – a theory given weight by the campaign's promotional image, which features both shoes on a wheatpaste-style background with some hastily-scrawled graffiti tags. Each shoe also features special ALD branding on its heels and insoles.

The 993 has been largely dormant in 2021, with New Balance focusing its attention on 99X series models like the 990v3 as well as new silhouettes like the 57/40 and 237, so this colab may serve as an indication that the 993 will be a key piece of the brand's release plans in 2022.

A 'draw' for each Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance 993 is live now on the Aimé Leon Dore webstore, and runs until 11:59 PM EST on November 9. The MSRP for each pair is set at $200.