New Balance's RC56 sneaker is striking out on its own with a fresh chrome colorway to match. Originally released as a collaborative venture with Aimé Leon Dore in May 2025, the RC56 is a sleek lifestyle shoe inspired by early-2000s cross-country runners, hence the slim build and sleek curves. 

Add on a chrome colorway, and the RC56 sneaker, as new as it is, is already in the running to become one of the sneaker house's sleekest dad shoes ever.

ALD’s RC56 was the first time New Balance created a brand-new silhouette in collaboration with another brand. Usually, collabs build upon existing sneaker silhouettes, but NB turned all of that on its head with this one. 

The slim-built sneaker has dropped in a few different colorways, including yellow and blue, but it was only right that the first independent release of the sneaker comes in a dressed-up version of New Balance's signature gray, just shiny.

Just because it's a sneaker doesn't mean it can't be polished.

Available on the New Balance website for $165, the sneaker also features a perforated leather mesh upper with wave-like paneling that gives the otherwise static sneaker some depth. In a way, the RC56 sneaker goes against the unspoken style codes New Balance itself has set. 

Making an independent version of a sneaker after a collab? Not exactly typical, especially when it comes to dad shoes. But when you hold as much rank as NB does, rules are subject to change.

You can do what you want when you're the boss.

Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit HS Shopping for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.