Today, they have been adopted by models, athletes, musicians, and cool dads everywhere—including Meadow’s owner Christopher! We love the normcore aesthetic of New Balance shoes, but don’t let their hyper-functional design fool you. Each season, the release of innovative styles and colors alongside retro classics makes New Balance shoes a key driver of global fashion trends. Try a pair of New Balance sneakers for their comfort, style, or both! You really can’t go wrong.
The story of New Balance shoes begins with the New Balance Arch Support Company, founded by Irish immigrant William Riley in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1906. Riley developed an innovative three-point orthotic that gave customers greater comfort and “new balance,” eventually leading to the creation of New Balance running shoes in 1961. The first model, the “Trackster,” was the only athletic shoe in the world to offer variable widths, giving it a loyal following among college athletes and members of the YMCA. Over the next several decades, New Balance sneakers grew to include walking shoes, Gore-Tex jackets, and New Balance running shorts. The brand’s core principles of performance, durability, and function have created a unique design language that makes New Balance shoes so unique.
Each model of New Balance shoes receives a unique number to identify its purpose, whether that is stability, speed, etc. These numbers have become associated with some of the most iconic sneakers in the world, such as the 574—the first New Balance running shoe designed to handle the road, track, and trail—or the 991, popularized by Steve Jobs and the “tech” culture of the Silicon Valley. Recently, new fashion-forward styles have joined the lineup of iconic New Balance sneakers, like the 327 and XC-72, which boldly reinterpret retro shoes in bold new colors and shapes. As a testament to their proud heritage, select New Balance shoes are still manufactured at factories in the United States and Great Britain.