Rasta Revival: atmos Bring Back Exclusive New Balance 574

It appears New Balance have been teaming up with a number of influential Japanese retailers and bestowing them an exclusive make-up of the classic 574. Following mita sneakers’ effort, the next store to receive a SMU is atmos, whose Rasta-flavoured 574 is the latest in their storied catalogue, and perhaps one of the final releases before Foot Locker have a bit more say in their business decisions.

For the old heads playing at home, this 574 does indeed look familiar. And atmos don’t hide the backstory either. As it is known, the 574 is a perennial favourite over in Japan and, as it turns out, so is reggae music, which penetrated the local culture in the late 1970s. The Rasta colours of green, yellow and red have actually featured on cult NB styles including the 574 and H710 in the 2000s, and atmos have drawn on this inspiration to revive the 574 in one of its earliest Rasta remakes.

This new release is effectively then considered a retro, as it replicates all of the colour-blocking from the 2000s version, which sees a yellow midsole, green ENCAP insert, and red heel clip. The rest of the upper is simply black leather and mesh, before being met by a red-trimmed silver N and more Rasta colours on the tongue tag. This 2000s throwback also returns specifications like padded tongues and elastic gussets.

This NB 574 will release on August 12 via raffle, exclusive to atmos.