Brand: Donald Glover x New Balance
Model: RC30
Release Date: July 18
Price: $140
Buy: Highsnobety Shop
Editor’s Notes: The New Balance roster is getting hard to compete with as the brand added another noteworthy figure to its team: Donald Glover.
Having parted ways with adidas, Donald Glover confirmed his New Balance partnership on July 7, dropping his first collaborative shoe with the Boston-based footwear brand the very next day.
For his first New Balance drop, Glover, also known by his musical moniker Childish Gambino, introduces the sneaker world to New Balance's brand-spanking-new model, the RC30.
Retro yet fresh, Donald Glover's New Balance RC30 borrows elements from New Balance's 1970s Trackster racing shoe, specifically bringing the OG model's tread outsole up to modern-day speed.
The collaborative RC30 sneakers, which come in two colorways of "Golden Hour" and "Sea Salt," also boast a rippled upper comprised of nylon and suede, which not only emphasizes the material juxtaposition but complements the shoe's ridged tread down below.
Following the vibe of his adidas collaboration announcement, Glover unveiled an animated short film in tandem with his New Balance release, where fictional mouse characters Brett and Courtland brainstormed a campaign for Glover's New Balance shoes.
In the end, the two characters' ideation frustration results in a physical altercation after Brett tears the "N" off Glover's cartoon version RC30s, creating a new, cleaner RC30 that pleases both Brett and Courtland.
I also thought it was cool that Glover issued a few Easter eggs in the short film, including Takashi Murakami skate decks, Bored Ape-adjacent artwork (which hilariously costs 30 "Harambe" coins), and a Guava Island reference.
I mean, I didn't expect anything less from the man behind Atlanta and "This Is America," two of Glover's many thought-provoking moments in pop culture which spurred endless Twitter think pieces.
While the Donald Glover x New Balance RC30 "Golden Hour" and "Sea Salt" are currently available on Market by Gilga's online store, it looks like Brett and Courtland's custom N-free New Balance sneaker may be up for grabs.
In his Instagram story, Glover detailed a three-step process to be "interviewed for the 'bespoke' shoe" in a notebook signed "sincerely" by Brett and Courtland, suggesting the animated one-off shoe may become an IRL thing for a lucky fan.
Like his previous projects, I can tell Donald Glover's New Balance era will be nothing less than exciting and refreshing, even for his simplest sneakers rollouts with the brand.
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