Top-5 New Balance Sneakers That Look Perfect in Black & Neutral
- Posted by: angeli.krohmal
World history cannot do without sports - it is not only a way to lead a healthy lifestyle, but also an opportunity to prove to yourself and the world incredible abilities. The same qualities, in fact, many sports brands possess. We know a lot about Adidas and Puma, we admire Nike endlessly - but there is another brand with an impressive history of formation. Let's talk about how New Balance was born.
Many people will be surprised, but the brand with British roots is older than all of the aforementioned - it's been around for over a century. It all started in 1906, when Irishman William Riley moved to the United States. The man had an idea for a rather lucrative business - manufacturing orthopedic devices, arch supporters for orthopedic shoes. Being quite observant, William took inspiration from nature. As funny as it may sound, the design of his supinator was based on the anatomy of a bird - a chicken to be exact. He hypothesized that the 3 fulcrums in the design would add stability. After successful trials and hands-on experience with the first customers, William founded a company - New Balance Arch Company.
There was a high need for such a development, because at the very beginning of the 20th century shoes were still uncomfortable, the lasts were made according to rough molds that did not take into account individual features, and the materials were quite rough, poorly processed leather and even sailcloth, and for soles too heavy rubber materials were used, in which the feet were quickly tired and even injured. William's idea was therefore very timely.
Initially, the company did not plan to produce sports shoes. Only after almost 30 years, the founder tried to produce sports sneakers using his technology for the local running club. Athletes highly appreciated the possibilities of the new type of shoes. Baseball players were also interested in the new sneakers. Since that time, the company began to make shoes to order.
Even then Arthur Hall, a professional salesman, who was able to present all the advantages of the new shoes to customers in the most dignified way. Some of the first mass orders were pairs of shoes for representatives of working professions: firemen, policemen and even stewardesses.
Eventually, in 1950, Arthur became the sole owner of the new sports company and, being a businessman, began to plan for expansion and larger-scale production. His daughter and son-in-law later joined the operation and management of the company. By the late 50's there was a public craze for running, which gave new ideas to the owners of the company.
In 1960, the first full-fledged pair of sporty running shoes called Trackster was released. The brand owners themselves thoroughly tested and developed this model. Trackster became the first model of sports shoes with a textured sole. In addition, the company has a brilliant idea - segmentation of sizes not only in length, but also in width. This became a great solution and one of the future famous technical customizations.
For the entire decade, the company remains a small hand-made production, whose only advertising engine remained the rave reviews of customers.
In 1972, the couple sold the company to Jim Davis. The young enterprising man, who has long appreciated the quality of the products, decides to make every effort to scale up production. The company was fortunately located in Boston, which was the heart of the passion for running. Jim realized that supplying the entire country that was into the running trend was impossible at this scale. He decided to expand his supply chain with new offices in other major cities. However, it wasn't enough to make the sneakers stand out among other athletic shoes - a designer was needed.
The first official designer of the company was Terry Heckler - he is the author of the world-famous logo N brand New Balance. At the same time a system of naming models of sneakers by number was developed, which is still used today.
1976 was marked by the release of two legendary models of sneakers New Balance 320 and New Balance 305. In addition to careful work on the design, the use of nylon and suede, the introduction of the logo on the model, the developers improved the last and sole - now it was a mixture of foam and lighter rubber. The sneakers created a hard to describe furor among runners. A year later there was a significant event - the athlete Tom Fleming wins the Boston Marathon in sneakers New Balance. Since then, the company has become world famous.
Isn't that Nike?
Initially, there were fears that 2 companies whose names begin with the same letter would be confused. But New Balance did not pay attention to this, because the approach to advertising and distribution, as well as the presentation of shoes was radically different. In addition, New Balance pursued the goal of putting all people in their shoes, regardless of whether they were professional athletes or fans of a healthy lifestyle.
Not just shoes
Since then, the company has grown exponentially. Already in 1978, the first collection of sportswear with special membranes was developed. A version of sneakers specifically for women was developed, taking into account the peculiarities of female foot anatomy. The founders achieved the desired goal - they managed to return to their roots and open factories in England.
Sneakers and apples
It's no secret that Steve Jobs himself was a fan of the New Balance brand. According to some reports, he participated in the development of some models of sneakers in the 80s. It is believed that the concept of the 990 model was developed by the founder of Apple.
The 80s were the most fruitful and rich in innovations for the sports brand. It was during these years that most of the iconic models that we still love with you today were developed: the 574, 1300, 997 and their variations. During these same years, the brand also created sneaker models specifically for fitness.
Despite the fact that the 90s were quite chaotic and crisis years, New Balance did not leave inspiration and they continued technical and design developments, which were lovingly received by fans around the world. The company was happy to re-release and improve the models of previous years, and collaborated with famous athletes.
During these years, the company was able to open factories in Asia to increase production. But even today we can still buy sneakers made in the USA and made in the UK.
The company is truly patriotic, as even today 20% of the company's total production is still active in the USA, making the brand even more committed in the eyes of customers, having thrived for over a century.
By the end of the century, the New Balance 801 Trail model alone had sold more than one and a half million pairs.
At the beginning of the new millennium, the company began experimenting with collaborations. First it became the brand P.F. Flyers - there was created a hybrid model of sneakers based on the developments of New Balance. Then it managed to cooperate with the British Offspring.
The 2010s were marked by the expansion of expertise in such sports as basketball and skating. The company still follows the tradition of working with sports masters in each field to achieve the best results.
The brand also emphasizes models for everyday life, often referring to already vintage designs, reinterpreting them to meet the needs of modernity.
Today, these truly quality sports shoes are a must-have in the closet of not only every athlete or amateur athlete, but also presidents, actors, designers, musicians and fashion lovers.
As the third most popular sports brand in the world, New Balance is the official sponsor of teams and individual athletes in a wide variety of disciplines and from a wide variety of countries in America and Europe.
The design of New Balance sneakers is one of the best solutions for creating both casual, calm outfits in minimalist style and for eccentric street style. Classic models of New Balance are perfectly combined with pants suits, jeans and even dresses of different lengths. This is a great substitute for classic shoes when you need to make the image more relaxed. At the same time, shoes from these collections do not lose their professional and technical properties, withstanding long walks on different landscapes.
New Balance is a guarantee of sports and everyday victories.
Most people believe that black and white are direct opposites but it is a mistake. All these colors, as well as natural, neutral or nude are the cement of any color scheme and can be a perfect duo at the same time. They are universal - just as the sneakers made by one of the most world-known brands - New Balance. These shades as well as the New Balance sneakers are consequential everywhere at any time and season. That’s why by choosing one of these models of women's sneakers we’ve chosen with great deliberation, you will always be on the front burner.
All of us love everyday fashion solutions. And everybody loves New Balance - so, feel free to get some new shoe friends from the above. Finally: choosing between light and dark, remember that white gets dirty quickly and black attracts warmth.