News + Trends

New Balance: Is this the most controversial sneaker release of the year?

3.5.2024

Translation: machine translated

The sales launch has not yet been finalised. But the hybrid sneaker and loafer from New Balance is already being hotly debated. Why the shoe is almost certainly going to be a hit.

The fusion of trainers and loafers sounds like a forbidden romance - Romeo and Juliet for the shoe rack instead of the bookshelf. A work by US brand New Balance in collaboration with Japanese designer Junya Watanabe. The hybrid was presented for the first time at the beginning of the year at the Paris Menswear Fashion Week for the upcoming autumn/winter collections. Information about further planned versions of the shoe has now surfaced online.

The viral shoe is a sporty dad sneaker at the bottom and an elegant loafer at the top. It combines the chunky silhouette of the New Balance 1906 models with the traditional slip-on design of a loafer. Slip-on trainers? Nothing new really and has long been common practice at Skechers. However, the New Balance loafer is characterised by formal details that clearly set it apart from regular slip-on sneakers. For example, the piped seam and the decorative leather strap over the instep, which has the characteristic slit of a penny loafer.

The New Balance 1906L sounds wild, but looks almost tame on the foot.
Source: Launchmetrics/Spotlight

This is what it looks like when New Balance and Junya Watanabe team up. — The New Balance 1906L sounds wild, but looks almost tame on the foot.
Source: Launchmetrics/Spotlight

For the fashion-savvy and grandfathers

When opposing worlds merge, minds are naturally divided. Comments on social media run the gamut from hostile to fascinated. "They're cursed" or "that's the ugliest thing I've ever seen", the haters fume. "Orthopaedic loafers" and "if you're going to church but have to do a 5-kilometre run afterwards", the amateur comedians goof. "I can't wait to wear them" or "I wanted to hate the shoe - but it's brilliant", fans pay homage.

The general consensus is that experimental fashion fans and grandfathers will love the wild mix. Because, of course, a slip-on dad sneaker evokes associations with the footwear choices of long-lived Family members - from dad to aunt to grandma and grandpa. Paradoxically, this is exactly what makes the shoe modern. After all, grandpacore is one of the big trends for the current year.

A contemporary style break combined in one shoe

Because of its polarising nature - born to go viral - the shoe is made for this era. The novel silhouette breaks with conventional ideas of what a sneaker should look like. In times when blazers are worn with jogging trousers and shirts with running shorts, there could hardly be anything more contemporary than a shoe that combines precisely this break in style.

The New Balance 1906L in the grey-silver version.
Source: New Balance

The New Balance loafer fits seamlessly into the "ugly but cool" genre that fashion just can't get enough of. It is therefore expected to be sold out within a very short time. That there will be trendsetters who will put it in a stylish context. Which sooner or later will make some critical minds buckle.

New Balance loafers soon in the regular range

New Balance is counting on the loafer interpretation finding its place in fashion. Since the original unveiling of the shoe, it is now certain that the Boston-based sporting goods manufacturer will also bring it out as a regular release instead of just a designer collab.

In recent weeks, two colourways have been leaked online: grey-silver and bright green. While the upper part of the Watanabe loafer is made of leather, the conventional 1906 loafer is made of mesh throughout.