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Thanks to its formula of aligning with impactful partners and manufacturing striking inline colorways, New Balance finds itself competing among the best of sportswear companies in the realm of footwear right now. Next up for the Boston-headquartered sneaker company is a fresh iteration of the Made-in-England New Balance 577 which has just dropped in a new “Desaturated Pack” colorway.The color story for these lifestyle kicks is rife with earthy tones and vivid complements. Mesh underlays are smothered with a light beige hue and come packaged with a dark brown suede quarter panel and bold yellow “N” logos. More suede accompaniments are present along the forefoot and the heels, the former being drenched with a slightly more saturated beige while the latter is dyed in a purple tone. Bursts of orange also get a seat at the table here along the collars and branding on the tongues. Capping off the base layer’s design are white interior lining and lower heel counters. Midsoles split between silver and angelic color-blocking while the waffle soles are dialed to a solid black.These multi-colored New Balance 577s are dropping soon through select shops like Sneaker District for €160 (approx. $188 USD).Previously, HYPEBEAST continued its Sole Mates series with a conversation of Paperboy Paris’ James Dridi about his connection to the New Balance 920.

Jordan Brand is set to release its Air Jordan 1 “Pollen” this week, and although the black and yellow “Pollen” colorblocking is indeed new to the Air Jordan 1, it has a rich history in the greater Nike sphere. This history dates all the way back to 1985, the year both the Air Jordan 1 and the Dunk made their debut.When the Dunk first made its way to market in 1985 as part of the “Be True to Your School” pack, one of the eight colorways it released in was a black and yellow makeup, crafted for the Iowa Hawkeyes. This two-tone color scheme returned in 1999 as part of a “Be True To Your School” retro, and also hit stores in 2020 as the Dunk High “Varsity Maize.” The parallel between Air Jordan 1 and Dunk is no new phenomenon. Michael Jordan’s first signature sneaker and the Dunk have always been intertwined thanks to their original 1985 release and near-identical midsole/outsole tooling, so the “Pollen” is the latest link in the chain that holds them together. On another note, the Air Jordan 1 “Pollen” is also a nod to a cult favorite piece of Nike Sportswear history — namely the ultra-rare Dunk High “Wu-Tang.” Reportedly limited to a mere 36 pairs, the “Wu-Tang” is the stuff of sneaker legend itself. Its release in 1999 followed up the 1998 release of The Swarm, an album put out by the Wu-Tang Killa Beez, a group composed of Wu-Tang members and their associates. Though the Wu’s Dunk retained the same color scheme as the “Iowa,” it added an embroidered Wu-Tang logo on the heel and a custom tongue label. Pairs were given out to Wu-Tang friends and family, and an ultra-small number also released at New York City’s Training Camp, a since-shuttered sneaker store with a hip-hop heavy clientele that included luminaries like JAY-Z. From a looks standpoint, the Air Jordan 1 “Pollen” combines high-grade black tumbled leather toeboxes, quarter panels and collars with smooth yellow mudugards, eyestays, Swooshes, heels and collar flaps. OG Nike Air branding graces the tongue, while ball-and-wings logos hit the lateral side of each collar. Down below, white midsoles and yellow outsoles round off the look. The Air Jordan 1 “Pollen” may not have the three decade-plus history of its Dunk High “Iowa” counterpart or the extreme scarcity of the Dunk High “Wu-Tang,” but following in the footsteps of 2020’s Dunk High “Goldenrod,” it’s aiming to ensure that the black and yellow color scheme it sports remains buzzy for years to come. It’ll release August 14 on Nike SNKRS, and if you don’t feel like waiting pairs are available via aftermarket sites like Stadium Goods and GOAT now.

New Balance’s “Tokyo Limited Editon” pack of 574s has looked to influential Japanese retailers like mita and BILLY’s as launching points for city-centric colorways, and now the offerings are being rounded off by an atmos-only style with a Rasta-influenced color scheme, a nod to a popular color combo on the city streets.Unlike its above-mentioned mita and BILLY’s counterparts — which used a suede and leather build — atmos’ exclusive 574 uses leather as a base material. Black tumbled leather is present on the mudguard, midfoot and heel, surrounding black mesh toeboxes, tongues and collars. The midfoot’s N logo is done up in metallic silver and trimmed with red. Multi-colored stylings are most vibrant on the lower half, thanks to a red heel clip with black NB branding and a double-stacked ENCAP midsole that sandwiches a slab of green foam under the heel before laying a bed of yellow foam under the entire foot. This tri-colored assemblage is repeated on the tongue’s branded tag, while final touches of yellow on the heel branding and the exclusive hangtag round off the look.Expect this atmos-exclusive New Balance 574 to release on the atmos webstore come August 12, with a tax-included MSRP of ￥14,300 JPY (approximately $130 USD).If you’re on the hunt for more New Balance news, check out the latest installment in HYPEBEAST’s weekly Sole Mates series: Paperboy Paris founder James Dridi and the New Balance 920.