You could be forgiven for thinking that New Balance’s 550 is an Aimé Leon Dore exclusive. But you’d be wrong, because the chunky sneaker initially hit the shelves way back in 1989. Who knew?!
That being said, it wasn’t until the Teddy Santis-founded label got into cahoots with New Balance over three decades later that the 550 really had its moment, so the fact that many associate the 550 sneaker with ALD so heavily is quite understandable.
Still, the NB 550 is officially free game and, for Fall/Winter 2023, Korean label thisisneverthat has taken a swing, rendering New Balance’s most covetable sneaker in three attractively desaturated colorways of pink, green, and brown.
Going off images posted by sneaker leakers, the trio of thisisneverthat x New Balance 550s look to house all the specifics you’d expect from the court silhouette (chunky sole, padded tongue, paneling on the upper), with a co-branded tongue the only addition.
Still, what did we expect? The 550 has been so universally popular since its initial ALD reincarnation back 2021 that you’d be stupid to try and fix what isn’t broken.
As if three new 550s weren’t enough, it also looks as if thisisneverthat and New Balance are also dropping a collaborative t-shirt, although specifics on this are even more sparse than that of the shoes.
Anyways, a thisisneverthat x New Balance 550 collaboration looks to be well on the way and also can serve as proof that just because ALD isn’t involved, it doesn’t mean the 550 can’t be great.
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