Salehe Bembury’s reign as an independent sneaker designer is only just beginning, with his New Balance 2002R kicking off a string of high-profile releases. This week, Bembury teased a new colorway of the vintage runner, said to take its inspiration from water.
Salehe Bembury’s first collaboration with New Balance was one of the premier releases of 2020, lighting up blogs and IG mood boards with photos of the Grand Canyon-inspired 2002R, as well as reaching astronomical resale prices soon after release. Now, the talented Bembury has shared an early look at a second colorway of the New Balance 2002R he developed, with a release on the horizon for this year. Once again taking his inspiration from the outdoors, the latest Salehe New Balance 2002R is said to be inspired by water, taking on a green and aqua blue color scheme to fit this theme. The 2002R’s mesh base layers take on the neon green tone in Salehe’s teaser image, which has been mocked up using the orange colorway as a base, seen here. Next, the leather mid-layers come in a darker green tone, while the shoe’s outermost suede overlays come in a bright aqua blue color, with an embroidered New Balance ‘N’ logo in white on either side.
SELEHE BEMBURY X NEW BALANCE 2002R “WATER” RELEASE INFORMATION
Salehe Bembury’s next release in collaboration with New Balance has not yet been announced for release, though we are likely to see them drop sometime early in 2021. The eye-catching teal and green color scheme said to be inspired by water is likely to release through the same channels as the previous, Grand Canyon pair, with the same retail price tag of $150. Check out the early images below and mockup above for a better look, and stay tuned to JustFreshKicks for more New Balance release news.
UPDATE (June 18th, 2021): The Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002r “Water be the Guide” has been scheduled to release later this month, on June 25th, 2021.
UPDATE (May 30th, 2021): Salehe Bembury has finally unveiled the full color scheme of his next New Balance 2002R project, following up on the “Grand Canyon”-inspired pair from last Fall. Sharing similar inspiration, the “Water be the Guide” 2002R features shocking blue suede overlays set against a red, rock-like mesh base layer and interspersed with lime green accents. This is a striking departure from the mock-up images released by HouseofHeat earlier this year, which imagined the shoe entirely in the blue and green tones. While we now have a better look at the shoe, Bembury is still keeping the release information close to his chest, though he did mention that the marketing campaign would be starting up very soon.
Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002R “Water”
Release Date: June 25th, 2021
Price: $150
