Sneaker News The New Balance 1000 is the latest Retro shoe from the NB brand to hit the market. It officially debuted as a collaboration with long-time partner Joe Freshgoods, with the duo releasing a “Black Ice” and “Pink Mink” colorway. New Balance has also begun to release the New Balance 1000 among its seasonal product with the Silver colorway (available now). Read below to learn everything you need to know about the New Balance 1000.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The New Balance 1000 originally released back in 1999 as a trail/running hybrid sneaker. The sneaker fits with the design of that era during which sporty, metallic overlays we prevalent in the running sneaker category. The name (or number) of the model itself is viewed as a reference to one of the brand’s earliest ad campaigns for the New Balance 990; the slogan read ‘On a scale of 1000, this shoe is a 990.” Thus, the New Balance 1000 was designed as a visualization of the “perfect” sneaker, although it never really did gain traction and had been relegated to the archives.
Below is the original ad for the New Balance 1000 that aired in 1999.
THE RETURN OF THE 1000
Sitting in the vault for nearly two decades, the New Balance 1000 was brought back to the limelight by New Balance MADE In USA Creative Director Teddy Santis. All it took was posting photos of the forgotten model on his Instagram Stories, and the 1000 suddenly found a newfound audience in 2024. While official details from neither brand nor Aimé Leon Dore founder had been revealed, a slew of leaked images showed the New Balance 1000 Retro in a variety of styles that suggested the brand was leaning heavily on the once-overlooked silhouette.
In-line colorways, MADE In USA executions, and collaborations seemed to be on the ledger for the New Balance 1000. Leading things off was Joe Freshgoods, the Chicago-based designer whose work in footwear has risen to become among the most coveted on the market.
JOE FRESHGOODS LEADS THE WAY
The Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 1000 officially debuted on March 4th, 2024. It took as little effort as some in-hand shots on Instagram to generate excitement around his “Pink Mink” and “Black Ice” colorways, both of which dropped on exclusively on the Joe Freshgoods website on April 12th. The “Black Ice” pair released again on April 19th on newbalance and select global retailers.
THE NEW BALANCE 1000SL DEBUTS
With the groundwork laid by the handy efforts of Joe Freshgoods, New Balance was now primed to debut the model as part of their seasonal in-line collection. The first “Retro” colorway was the Silver/Black pair that released on April 24th, 2024; this was the same pair that Teddy Santis hinted at earlier this year. Pairs are still available online in our Where To Buy section just below.
WHERE TO BUY
New Balance 1000 "Silver Metallic"
US 04/24/2024 Wednesday
| Retailer | Release type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| New Balance US | Standard | Check Site |
| Extra Butter | EQL | EQL |
This is hardly the end: New Balance will be releasing more 1000 colorways throughout the remainder of the year, with more collaborations likely to follow involving the brand’s arsenal of creative partners such as Action Bronson, AURALEE, Aimé Leon Dore, and more. Below is a rundown of known colorways of the New Balance 1000; releasing information for each pair has not yet been revealed.
Below is a gallery of confirmed upcoming releases of the New Balance 1000. Some are clearly in-line product that will be available on newbalance.com at some point. Others are from the elevated MADE In USA tier and will likely have a higher MSRP.
