New Balance’s Retro Runner Is Now Gloriously Utilitarian
By order of the Korean outdoor label CAYL (full name: Climb As You Love), New Balance’s retro running model has become a technical outdoor sneaker.
The new collaboration sees New Balance’s 1906 model stripped down and upgraded with weight-saving materials: gone are the unnecessary leather elements, replaced by synthetic no-sew overlays added to a ripstop fabric that’s so lightweight it's translucent.
Along with its new lightweight build, CAYL has provided toggle laces to the 1906, a requirement for practically any serious trail sneaker.
The simplified, stripped-back build turns an old-school, early-naughts sneaker into a decisively contemporary outdoor shoe. However, what really makes it stand out is its colorways.
Dressed in light yellow with darker tonal overlays and contrasting black detailing, it’s a glorious mix of colors that highlight the sneaker’s technical fabrics.
Talk of an upcoming CAYL x New Balance 1906 has been rife since a blue-colored variation of this lightweight sneaker was teased online. Whether that is arriving alongside this yellow colorway or is an early sample that didn’t make it into production is not yet clear.
So far, the yellow-hued 1906 is the only New Balance x CAYL 1906 sneaker to have made it to stores, the collaboration is launching at sneaker retailer BSTN for $179.99 on August 22.
While this is not the New Balance 1906's first time getting an outdoor-ready upgrade, CAYL has taken it into more utilitarian territory than we’ve seen before. But, what else would you expect from a brand specializing in mountain gear?
