From the Vault: Concepts x New Balance 997 “Rosé”
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By Stadium Goods |From the Vault: Concepts x New Balance 997 “Rosé”
A look at the classic New Balance collab from 2014.
Matt DeSciora
There is without a shadow of a doubt that New Balance is one of the most exciting brands in sneakers today. That’s because few brands have shown as deft a touch as the Boston footwear company when it comes to collaborations. Its work with Aimé Leon Dore, Joe Freshgoods, JJJJound, and others is the pinnacle of modern sneaker hype. But before New Balance was serving up one thoughtful collaboration after another, it was, well, serving up one thoughtful collaboration after another back in the day, too.
Indeed, New Balance has as storied a legacy as any shoe company in the world, and that sometimes gets overlooked. But not today. This week, we’re excited to feature our From the Vault series on the Concepts x New Balance 997 “Rosé,” a special, pink-based colorway of the classic sneaker that was made exclusively for the opening of Concepts’ New York City location in 2014.
As one can imagine by its name and look, the New Balance 997 “Rosé” by Concepts is a celebratory release. The design gives the heritage performance running shoe a premium appearance throughout, most notably with pink suede construction and contrasting grey faux-reptile patterning on the reflective collar and tongue. In a day and age where muted, monochromatic and earth tone colorways are all the rage, the Concepts x New Balance 997 “Rosé” is refreshingly not that.
As the 997 has been increasingly harder to come across in recent years, that’s only driven up the value on colorways from back in the day, especially those as limited as the “Rosé.” And with more New Balance styles from the early 2010s continuing to come back into focus, like the 2002R and 610, not to mention the return of the brand’s “Made in USA” line, it could be time for the 997 to make noise once again.