A Traditional British Tailor’s First-Ever Sneaker Collaboration
The New Balance Allerdale, an elderly walking shoe unveiled by NB earlier this year, just got its first collaboration. And it’s a proper, all-Bri’ish affair.
New Balance is teaming up with Drake’s London, a company that has, until now, existed almost entirely outside of sneaker culture. In fact, this marks its first-ever sneaker collaboration.
Founded in East London in 1977, the British label built its reputation on handmade ties and scarves that soon found worldwide acclaim in high-end boutiques. The brand then expanded into tailoring, carving out a lane in menswear by mixing Savile Row tradition with easygoing, off-duty elegance.
For its first sneaker collab, that DNA is all over the New Balance Allerdale. The brand’s menswear roots are injected into the shoe, right down to the dotted red laces that nod to its classic ties.
Pebbled chocolate leather meets olive green suede on the upper of the shoe, flanked by chestnut overlays and an olive gridded tongue. But the real clincher is those red-and-cream dotted laces.
Part of New Balance’s premium Made in UK line, this sneaker is built in the brand’s famed Flimby factory. It’s even named after the historical Allerdale district where the factory is based.
Retailing at $250 and dropping this Fall on the New Balance website, the New Balance Allerdale is deepening its British roots through this collaboration with Drake’s.
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