Salehe Bembury is one of New Balance’s most consistent collaborators, simply because he's so good at designing incredible sneakers (and colorways).
Since Bembury’s inaugural team up with the Boston-based sneaker label back in 2020, the former Versace footwear overseer has served umpteen utterly excellent takes on a myriad of signature New Balance silhouettes including the 2002R, 990v2, and 574.
Bembury’s latest design, though, is one of his best New Balances yet and arrives in the form of a delicious twist on the techy-looking 1906R shoe.
Officially revealed via Bembury’s Instagram on December 20, the designer's new 1906 sneaker comes draped in flame-like ombre mesh that sits beneath metallic silver overlays and atop New Balance’s archetypal N-ergy cushioning, the tech that comes standard with NB's now-classic running shoe.
I suppose you could say Bembury's bringing the heat? (again)
The new 1906 sneaker collab, which was first teased earlier this year, is set to drop alongside a red and blue take of the same silhouette, a colorway also revealed by Bembury apropos of nothing besides the holiday season. Stay warm, everybody.
When it comes to release details on both New Balance 1906s, there is simply no information out there at all. What else would you expect from these kinds of sudden reveals, though?
In fairness, whenever Bembury has shared in-hand images of sneakers in the past, it often indicates that a sneaker drop isn’t too far away.
For Bembury, this latest collaborative New Balance release bookends what has been a mad busy year for the designer.
After being named the creative director of the Crocs Pollex line back in April, Bembury has been on a mission to transform the Boulder-based footwear brand from the inside out., a task that also involves leading Crocs’ charge into the world of sneakers.
That, alongside a slew of Pollex releases, multiple Moncler collaborations, and even his very own Clarks Originals silhouette.
All in all, you could say it’s been a pretty fruitful year for Bembury, and what better way to round it out with a terribly handsome New Balance 1906, perhaps the best sneaker of the bunch he created in the past 12 months.
