The Stylish Runners Who're Batting a Thousand on New Balance Collabs
District Vision is most famous for its suave sunglasses, handmade in Japan like artisanal eyewear but tough enough for daily jogs. Perhaps District Vision ought to be most famous for its New Balance collaborations, though, considering that the Los Angeles sportswear label has failed to fumble a since limited-edition sneaker.
Every District Vision New Balance is a remix, upgrading existing shoes with elegant selections of colors and materials that render high-tech runners brand-new. District Vision's New Balance 1080v15 is another feather in its cap.
Whereas the New Balance 1080v15 was already a handsome sneaker, further proof that function-first road runners are suddenly hitting stylish highs , District Vision does it one better.
This shoe, available now on District Vision's website and from New Balance on April 10, takes a typical District Vision tact in two disparate tonal colorways, as earthy as ever and perpetually tasteful. But the tactile side of things was also reconsidered, with District Vision citing "1990s running footwear" references for several subtle but smart details.
New Balance's "N" logo is stitched to the side as if it was cut out of a chunk of Clarino suede, a style of extra-tough artificial leather, to match the reinforced toebox. And the sneaker's upper is wears a layered mesh veil that subtly detracts from its overall heft, without cutting into the necessaries, like a thick sole and sleek tongue.
If District Vision had merely cooked on the shoe alone, it'd still be winning. The only thing that its prior New Balance collaborations needed to succeed were the sublime sneakers at the heart of it all. However, District Vision also delivered on two fronts: the lush campaign shows the collaborative shoes on record-smashing runner Parker Valby, demonstrating that they're more than a pair of pretty faces.
District Vision also put forth a Japan-made running glove and matching set of Takeyoshi Altitude Master shades with photochromic lenses that adapt to the light. This is genuinely useful stuff that also happens to be supremely steezy, which also goes for District Vision's mastery of the collaborative New Balance.
This is a true collaboration, where the end result isn't merely an existing product updated with a new logo but a considered coming together of two likeminded companies that created something they only could've come up with together. That District Vision can so consistently pull this off while also staying in its lane of genuinely good gear for runners is just further proof that no one else comes close.
