Source: NEW BALANCE PROGRAM LAUNCHES TO PRESSURE TEST NEW IDEAS IN PERFORMANCE FOOTWEAR
I wanted to place a question mark at the end of the title because while New Balance delivered the information about the PRJ 1.0 in a press release about its consumer informed pressure test concept, the marketing and images are purely fashion… which leads me to repeat a phrase I continue to post here in regard to the idea that brands should stop “pushing” performance on consumers. New Balance isn’t pushing performance. They are utilizing performance to inform casual wear. This is something that is definitely required as there seems to be a misconception that a casual shoe doesn’t require tech for a more comfortable ride.
It should be noted that many of New Balance’s shoes already have a 90’s aesthetic, but their copy for the PRJ 1.0 states that this shoe is attempting to capture the 90’s.
The Pressure Test concept (the method used to introduce the PRJ 1.0) is described as, “Often times our designers have unique ideas that don’t necessarily fit a product brief. We wanted to launch a program that aims to bring these footwear concepts to life,” said New Balance Running SBU Manager Kevin Fitzpatrick. “TESTRUN; aims to bring new and disruptive footwear concepts to market quickly and then uses consumer feedback & data to determine scalability.”
The first shoe the brand is moving into testing phase for potential scaling is the PRJ 1.0
The exaggerated outsole is clearly a move towards the chunkier outsoles being utilized in the dad shoe trend. With Puma and Fila making waves at retail it’s understandable why New Balance wanted to grab some share of the trend. What I see in this model is the potential for the trend to actually grow legs and become a bit more than just fashion. The shoe features both full length Abzorb midsole cradled by an Acteva support rim. The cut remains in the same silo as many socklike fit uppers which I think is a mistake since they are trying to capture some element of the 90s style. This should have had an actual tongue with elastic connected at the last (inside of the shoe) for a lockdown fit and the elastic bands from the tongue to the last would allow the heel to flair away from the achilles since lockdown would be helped by the elastic around the midfoot. They should have also stayed a bit traditional with a thin nubuck at the heel counter and toebox (90s and New Balance has always screamed suede). These design central elements I’m discussing would make the shoe more “on trend”, because one of the main reasons the dad trend is working is that “dad shoes” are completely anti socklike knit runners.
Maybe I’m reading too much into the testing aspect and New Balance is simply looking to ride the wave while remaining true to their performance heritage. Whatever the case I think what they have here is actually a really nice outsole that would have been bettered placed on a modernized 990 styled upper.
What do you think of the shoe? I think it’s obvious by the pictures that this is a fashion drop. Why do you think New Balance is bringing up their Pressure Test concept to introduce this model? Did they need to preface it?
Check out more pics and info at the source link above.
Updated to fix grammatical errors 7-22-2018 10:51pm
Note: when you visit the Test Run site you will find that this model is nearly sold out. There isn’t an influencer attached to the Project, just a description of performance and an interactive concept allowing consumer input. New Balance did not share the shoe on their social outlets either. Take this and place it in contrast to the Gary Vee release with K-Swiss, which after a week still doesn’t have any broken sizes, and you begin to understand the precarious nature of Influencer marketing and sponsorships. Product is always first. The story is in the product. Tell that story and utilize beautiful product shots and storytelling and smaller brands can reach their target.