How to Make a Great New Balance Better? Make It a Slip-On
New Balance is on an absolutely outrageous hot streak right now and its newest slip-on only keeps the party going. It answers a question that I didn't ask but am glad to have the answer for: how do you make New Balance's already-great 610 even better? Answer: drop the laces.
Tokyo Design Studio New Balance's 610 slip-on takes everything that's so compelling about the 610 and refines it by stripping off the laces, leaving a sleek trail runner in their stead.
I won't mince words: both of the debut NB 610 colorways are superb, the cream colorway being a clear standout. That shoe in particular ends up looking like a nurse shoe from the future, and I mean that in the best way possible.
All the tread of a trail shoe and all the comfort of an easy-on New Balance. Two great tastes that taste great together!
Tokyo Design Studio New Balance, by the way, is the adventurous Japanese branch of the Boston-based sportswear giant, responsible for some of the craziest shoes and best sneaker colorways to ever bear the NB name.
It debuted its new slip-on with a COMME des GARÇONS HOMME collaboration this past summer, but that won't see release until 2024. However, the in-line TDS New Balance 610 slip-on shoes will launch later this season at stores like Footpatrol.
As an old man (of the soul), I'm truly heartened to see more sneaker brands embrace the comfort inherent to laceless shoes. HOKA is really making moves with its recent slip-on sneakers, even expanding its oeuvre to include an outré mule that actually looks quite un-HOKA, at least from an in-line perspective.
That New Balance is also getting in on the action is a good sign. More comfort, less laces, please!
Sure, the TDS NB 610 slip-on may not be an easy sell to the average sneaker-shopping customer, perhaps, but I would argue that it's hot fire. It's also merely the latest example of New Balance coming absolutely correct with its collaborations.
Like I said at the top, New Balance is on an unbelievable run right now. Between sublime collaborations with companies like KITH and Carhartt WIP that follow a can't-be-understated huge summer, its sneakers are receiving mainstream press in light of two organic Taylor Swift moments.
It's the kind of free marketing that companies pray for. One of the world's biggest musicians freely promoting your shoes? Dream come true.
The best part of it all is that while New Balance keenly courts the masses, it's also dropping excellent shoes that stand tall as design masterpieces. Sound like a hyperbolic descriptor for the 610 slip-on? Perhaps. But I do really, really like the shoe and, even better, its inventiveness bodes well for New Balance's future releases.
