Big news for absent fathers: New Balance has officially unveiled the 990v7, the first new version of its flagship sneaker in four years. 

In the realm of fatherly footwear, that’s seismic. We’ve lost count of how many silhouettes have vied for the “Ultimate Dad Shoe” crown; it’s a battle royale out there when everyone wants to be daddy. But claiming the crown means climbing over the bones (or at least shredded soles and tattered uppers) of every abandoned pair that came before. 

But the 990 isn’t most shoes. It’s the blueprint, devised by the Boston brand that essentially wrote the rulebook on the dad sneaker. This kind of perfection shows in just how few tweaks New Balance has made since its OG debuted in 1982. Since then, the 990 has behaved like a groundhog, only occasionally popping its multi-panel upper out of its burrow to grace us with an update. 

Sometimes the wait has stretched nearly two decades. The V2 didn’t arrive until 1998, coming 16 years after the original. A four-year stretch between this new 990v7 and the 2022 V6 is still long, of course. (Joe Biden was the president, Queen Elizabeth was freshly dead, and ChatGPT had only just launched.)

Nobody understands the hype potential here as much as New Balance. This time, it  followed up its cheeky NYC billboard — featuring an almost microscopic image of the 990v7 — with an official ad that simply says, “Dad's back.” And the upgrade here is worth the wait. The 990v7 packs fresh tech, like softer FuelCell cushioning and a new TPU midfoot shank, while keeping the signature mesh, suede, and leather upper. 

Better still, anyone itching to retire their V6 won’t have to wait much longer: Daddy comes home to New Balance stores and stockists on November 6 for $200. 

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