The release of COMME des GARÇONS HOMME’s New Balance 1906R sneaker has been a long time coming.

Ever since the Japanese label revealed its conveyor belt of collaborative New Balance shoes as a part of the Junya Watanabe MAN FW23 show back in January (one that also included the 550 and 650), fans of both New Balance and CDG have been patiently waiting for any sniff of a release.

Well now, almost nine months later CDG’s take on New Balance's nostalgic 1906R finally looks to be landing, although it isn't all good news.

According to reports, the collaborative CDG x New Balance 1906R will be dropping online on November 17 exclusively in Japan. Yup, just when you thought the wait was over another CDG-shaped hurdle is thrown into the mix.

While there’s no official confirmation of the release from either brand at present, we expect that when CDG’s New Balances do launch they will fetch a far higher price tag than a classic 1906R (an estimated $320) such is the nature of a collaborative sneaker release.

Thing is, CDG’s 1906R is virtually the same as New Balance’s general release 1906R. CDG branding on the heel and tongue aside, both the white and black colorways could have easily been from the Boston label’s mainline collection and then purchased for a much lower price.

But hey, a collaboration is a collaboration and they’ll still likely sell out in no time at all, even if only in Japan.

Good news is, though, if you don’t manage to cop them or your plug doesn't come through, you can always just buy some almost identical non-collaborative New Balance 1906Rs and save yourself some pennies in the process.