This New Balance 991 Features a Material Mix
are holding strong out of their Flimby, UK facilities with the retro flagship. No stranger to both classic colourways and experimental remakes, this upcoming edition is a solid example of the latter.
While regular 991s stick to the suede and mesh formula, this version reinterprets the combo in a somewhat unorthodox manner. The usual materials are all there, but they’ve been arranged differently. Most notably, the midfoot mudguard is cut from grey mesh instead of the usual suede. The mudguard is bookmarked by a black suede toe cap and tonal grey grain leather heel counter.
So far, this is fairly conventional colour-blocking, but the pairing of teal and navy mesh inserts at the toe box and quarter is anything but. Furthermore, white leather overlays frame the teal leather mid panel that adds a jolt of centralised colour. And if things weren’t busy enough, NB add some caramel yellow right on the heel tab, not before shading the midsole ABZORB insert in bright purple. And they acknowledge their mixed Skittles look with an equally jumbled jigsaw insole.
All in all, it’s a borderline psychedelic colourway that NB have managed to clutch from the brink of being unwearable. They’ve turned an unlikely combination of colours into a pretty tasteful sneaker. Coming soon to boutiques like 43einhalb.