The New Balance 550 has been hard to come by since its return midway through last year. While we are still previewing new in-line colorways for 2021, New Balance has unveiled a forthcoming project with Japan’s AURALEE, spinning the 550 in a vintage look.
New Balance revived its retro 550 silhouette last year, shining a new light on the Boston brand’s back catalog of performance sportswear that has since taken a backseat to its excellent running technologies. Launched via a collaboration with Aimé Leon Dore, the NB 550 is now referred to as the ‘basketball oxford’ due to its similarities to beefy mens’ dress shoes, as well as it’s clean and classic look of a mid-’80s ‘ball shoe. Now, after the 550 has begun its rollout in in-line colorways and releases, New Balance has tapped another collaborator for their take on the vintage sneaker, this time turning to Japanese fashion brand AURALEE. For its signature version of the 550, AURALEE has given the silhouette a makeover in the style of vintage footwear that is so popular across the internet today. Constructed from plain white leather, the materials are aged and yellowed ever-so-slightly to achieve the look of a pair at least a decade old. The midsole is aged significantly compared to the rest of the shoe, sporting a yellow tone while gum-tinged rubber outsoles complete the look.
AURALEE X NEW BALANCE 550 AW21 RELEASE INFORMATION
New Balance’s next collaboration featuring the vintage 550 basketball shoe, this time teaming up with Japanese fashion brand AURALEE, has been scheduled to drop sometime amongst the label’s AW21 season. We expect the shoes to release sometime in late Summer, dropping from both partners as well as select NB retailers. Check out the teaser images below for a better look, and stay tuned to JustFreshKicks for more New Balance release news.
UPDATE 7/11/21: The upcoming project from AURALEE and New Balance is now expected to launch later this month, on August 19th, 2021. While there is little information regarding where the AURALEE 550 will release, we do know that the date is precise so stay tuned to JustFreshKicks for more release info as it surfaces.
