Just when you thought New Balance’s weird moccasin runner couldn’t get any bolder, images emerge of said weird moccasin’s boldest colorway yet. Slated to land in September 2026, the New Balance U1890A Grey/Beige takes a silhouette that was already inherently experimental and goes all out.

When the U1890A debuted, it understandably turned heads. What felt like it could only be an experimental sample ended up finding its way to mainline production. Now, New Balance doubles down on that out-there aesthetic with yet another animal-print finish.

After the snakeskin leather of the first cream-colored release, New Balance toned things down a little with the pared-back palette of black and purple, dubbed the Dark Night. Since then, they’ve done a full 180 and landed, this time, with cow print. 

Delivered in a textural ponyhair, the cow-print base of the upper is overlaid by tactile suede panels. While adding to the shoe’s texture, they work to balance out the bold print of the base layer.

Underfoot, the tooling stays true to its heavy-duty performance roots. The sculpted black midsole utilizes full-length ABZORB cushioning while a durable, multi-textured rubber outsole provides a grounded, stable footprint beneath the wild upper.

The New Balance U1890A Grey/Beige proves that New Balance is far from done pushing the boundaries of progressive footwear. Pairing an already out-there, hybrid silhouette with an updated animal-print finish is surely a nod that there’s more of this to come. Bring it on.

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