Gone are the days when our footwear is expected to do just one thing. Today, dress shoes have sneaker soles for all-day comfort, winter boots are styled to be at home in the office, and, more and more, you can wear the same pair of shoes at the gym as you would a night out at the bar.
It's in this vein that New Balance is releasing the 247 Sport: "Designed with the modern urban lifestyle in mind, classic New Balance quality and craftsmanship is fused with modern performance-inspired details for a contemporary new style."
Before I get into trouble, this is not a running shoe. It's a lifestyle shoe inspired by some of their past performance models. But, like Converse has done recently (twice, actually), it's easy to imagine these will start popping up at your local Equinox.
The 247 Sport is a shoe that combines inspiration from a host of different running and lifestyle models into one sleek and versatile new product. It's a Frankenshoe, if you will. And it's beautiful.
“The 247 Sports pack is a nod to the brand’s innovation and performance running product,” said New Balance Senior Product Manager Brian Lynn. “Lightweight engineered mesh, neoprene bootie, synthetic overlays and reflective hits work in conjunction with vibrant colour pops for a more technical and eye catching look. The style is ideal for those consumers that want to make a stylish statement on their daily commute.”
The daily commute in Boston can be a workout on its own. So that makes sense.
Here's more on the different models that came together to create the 247:
A reflective welded N logo, reflective collar strap and rubber “sport” tongue label were borrowed from New Balance performance running, but designed for a 247 lifestyle. Inspiration from heritage models includes the asymmetrical detail on the toe vamp that is a subtle reference to the 1300; a collar strap design taken from the 574 and 576; and, a sleeker more lightweight version of the 998 midsole.
Everything here, from the colorways to the design, the fit to the styling, seems to indicate this is a shoe New Balance hopes you'll wear all day long, in a variety of settings for a multitude of purposes. It's certainly unlike anything the company has released in recent memory. And while some on social media feel these may hint a bit toward the popular Adidas NMD, the overwhelming reaction seems to be positive. And I couldn't agree more.
“The 247 is the first model created as part of our commitment to create footwear designed for our evolutionary concept, ‘Style of Your Life.' A nod to our iconic styling but a major step forward in representing the intersection where sport and life meet,” said Shinichi Kubota, VP of Global Lifestyle. “The cutting edge 247 design combines the craftsmanship, technology, comfort and fit New Balance is legendary for and offers the versatility needed for the modern style seeker consumer and their round-the-clock lifestyle.”
The 247 Sport will be available online and at global retailers beginning Feb. 4 for a suggested retail price of $94.95.
Check out more images, below:
Images provided.
