The release pictures for these were great so I thought I would take my own angle and change up the colour blocking a bit. I first saw a glimpse of these on a trip to South Africa in January this year, I was invited to NB HQ and was lucky enough to see a sample and get the story behind the details explained. To be honest I was less than impressed with the choice to use a 574 and so didn't think much of it, but now after having it in my hands and looking at the details and the materials chosen I really, really like them.
The shoe is inspired by the city of Johannesburg in South Africa, the city was founded on gold mining hence the gold speckled midsole, along with that Joburg is also famous for its thunder storms which is shown by the weather pattern on the logo. We also see the "Parktown Prawn" graphic on the insole, hangtag and dust bag, this cricket is particularly common in Parktown, Joburg and perhaps made famous by the District 9 movie. Finally the African insignia on the heel is traditional African design from the same region.
The amount of detail that has gone into this shoe really impresses me, from the contrast stitching to the amazing colour blocking to the use of both New Balance logos on the heel. Along with that there are the two options for logo colours, the yellow lace tips and the added dust bag. This shoe definitely impresses in person. Don't sleep global release on the 29th of April.
