EDGY LIFESTYLE FOOTWEAR OF UPDATED CLASSICS & FRESH STYLES
New Museum, Bowery, NYC 7PM
Words, Images Judith Ecochard
Weather adverse NYers don’t actually melt in the rain… so we hopped the Downtown #6 to preview the New Balance For Nine West fashion forward collection of sneakers and slip-ons last night...even though we were freezing but not fading…and not exactly channeling SPRING.
What we didn’t expect was that the spacious gallery room ensconced in this outstanding architectural gem, the contemporary art mecca-The New Museum…would be as crowded as it was…with print media types, no less.
BACKSTORY: New Balance For Nine West is a smart collaboration between the legendary high-performance sneaker company that’s pushing it’s lifestyle mojo…and the affordable on trend giant Nine West.
THE DESIGNERS: A mind melt of Nine West’s Creative Director Fred Allard-a veteran of the Parisian fashion scene…and New Balance’s Savania Davies-Keiller and Roberto Crivello-the forward thinking duo behind high-tech fashion brand DDCLab.
THE COLLECTION: With a nod to Japanese anime, the colorful fashion/function line offers lace-ups, flats and slides –punched up with bold accents and sci-fi fabrics. And since it sports the New Balance moniker, we know every single pair of peds is super comfy and supportive.
The ICON line of 410s is a New Balance old school style sneaker. Reworked for Spring 09 we liked the trendy summery shades (aqua, hot pink and yellow and a hip black/blue and silver accents) –and innovative, mixed textures like vintage running nylon, seersucker with metallic threading, and nubuck suede.
The SHEER assortment is a sleek, inventive metallic shoe with mixed uppers of silver, rose… or black sheer nylon…and a silver leather mole strap. It comes in slip-ons and mule styles.
We thought the KIKI grouping the most fun with rainbow colored rubber band criss-cross straps and translucent glass like outsoles on a white or silver- based shoe. Cool.
The DNA slides are jazzed up slip-ons and thongs in eye-catching multi-hued patterns.
Retail: $79-$100 at hip boutiques Barney’s, Fred Segal etc…and department stores.
INFO: NEW BALANCE
NINE WEST
FUN ADDITION: We get the target market with this line- as the product ambassador- the adorable NWBI- is Japanese anime character that ”embodies attitude, spirit, energy, fashion savvy and spontaneity…”
A dedicated micro website will feature the zippy NWBI adventures around the globe- as well as providing the 411 on the latest happenings.