NEW BALANCE COLABORATIONS - from New Balance Nutter

I have looked into some of the New Balance collaborations that the New Balance Nutter mentioned to see what the 'hype' was about...

eYe Junya Watanabe Comme des Garcons x New Balance 1500s

New Balance 1500s done up in a blue hue makeup by designer Junya Watanabe featuring suede and nylon uppers. These released exclusively in Japan at ¥31,00 (which is around $331 USD)

Staple Design x New Balance 575s - Pigeon

Released in 2008 the Pigeon trainers by Staple Design were set to be as big a hit as the Pigeon Nike Dunks in 2003. The exclusive trainers feature the pigeon stitched into the back and the pigeon poo on the sole of the shoe.

United Arrows x New Balance

The high-end Japanese retailer, United Arrow, have continuously collaborated with New Balance. The example below is their creation of the 997.5s with hints of pink and purple on the grey upper. I really like the textured sole, I think it give a unique feel and goes will with the design of the shoe.

La MJC x Colette x New Balance 1500s

Paris creative agency La MJC and Colette collaborated with New Balance to create the 'Vivre Sans Temps Mort' 1500 sneaker. The slogan used for this trainer is one of the core slogans of the agency.

NEW BALANCE x DREW NYSSEN

New Balance have collaborated with Drew Nyssen who designed the New Balance ST33s. He designed the trainers to look like fish, taking inspiration from 'fish scale' leather used for women's couture handbags.
To follow this idea through to the brands visual merchandising the trainers were placed into fish tanks and aso in ice, a though they were on  fish counter.

NEW BALANCE x NINE WEST

Fashion footwear and athletic performance came together for this limited edition collection. Led by Nine West's Creative Director Fred Allard and New Balance Creative Directors Saviana Davies-Keiller and Roberto Crivello the collection features a selection of sneakers, athletic flats and sandals. These styles are modernized with fresh fabrications and feminine colours. With the combination of New Balance's innovative performance and material technology with Nine West's female fashion knowledge, the fresh spring styles within the collection introduces feminine patterns, materials and colours perfect for the modern woman.

THE ADVERT BEHIND THE COLLECTION

MEET THE CREATIVES BEHIND THE COLLECTION

See the full collection at http://www.newbalance.com/lifestyle/nine-west/

GOLA COLLABORATE WITH TADO

I found this interesting collaboration between the sportswear brand Gola and a UK based design duo Tado. They collaborated for Spring/Summer 2010 to create vibrant new designs, with the use of retro colours and characters. These designs were then put on to items such as Gola's classic Redford bag, high and low top trainers and clothes for both men and women.

The use of these vibrant colours creates a perfect look for Spring/Summer and complements Gola's love of quirky designs.

Gola, as a competitor for New Balance, seem to be quite similar; they also tend to focus on their British heritage and have been around for a similar amount of time. This makes them quite an interesting brand to look into in terms of what they have done to create a higher awareness within the UK market, especially as many of the aspects they wish to present to consumers are similar to New Balance.

CONVERSE LOVES MARIMEKKO

Converse have collaborated with Marimekko, who are celebrating their 60th birthday this year. Marimekko is a textile design company renowned for its original prints and colours. This collaboration has turned all american converse sneakers into super cute, feminine pumps.
As a lover of Converse, I think these are brilliant! The low-tops are especially cute and will be perfect, with their girly prints, for Spring/Summer.

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER TRAINERS

Gerry Mckay, a Glasgow based designer has mocked up these amazing concept trainers, collaborating Adidas with the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. "Facebook as a brand is increasingly on the rise and I thought it would be interesting to see what it would look like if Adidas also released a limited edition Facebook Superstar, so I worked on my own design of the shoe and this is what I came up with", said Mckay. Facebook and Twitter as a fashion brand is just waiting to happen, and this collaboration would be perfect.

I actually want the Twitter trainers...but I think it's the colours rather than the fact that they are branded with Twitter.

ADIDAS x DIESEL: DENIM COLLECTION & CAPSULE TRAINERS

Adidas and Diesel have collaborated many times in the past, but in 2009 they collaborated in the opposite way to which would be expected. We would expect them to collaborate in terms of trainers, with Diesel creating the designs, but instead Adidas have helped design and create a range of denim jeans for both men and women. This fresh, new concept aimed to attract lifestyle customers to purchase the Diesel brand.

After this successful collaboration the pair or brands put their thinking caps on once again and created a limited capsule trainers collection.

The limited edition collaboration is enough to make any sneaker freak rush down to Diesel with these new understated designs. Although subtle, there are still undertones of Diesel's cheeky nature with streaks of bright colour present. 

These had a large presence within the store in Nottingham; taking over the window display, stopping consumers in their tracks to have a look at the collection.

"The heritage of the two brands will come together, applying our spirit on Adidas classic kicks"

 Renzo Rosso (Founder)

ADIDAS x INTEL: AN OFF THE WALL IDEA

In conjunction with Intel, Adidas have launched the Adidas adiVerse Virtual Footwear Wall, completely interactive virtual program that catalogs more than 8,000 of Adidas' footwear retail products.
To begin the adiVerse experience, a consumer can simply walk near the adiVerse Wall, and the program will determine your sex. From there, what you want to explore is up to you; adiVerse allows you to see all of Adidas’ footwear, with 360-degree touch-screen viewing as well as product information and marketing content available for viewing. The user can then request to physically view products using the display, the request is sent to a mobile tablet device  which each store assistant will have to hand.

I first found out about this new concept for visual merchandising from an article found in Drapers, seen below. I thought that this concept was really interesting and that it was good to see a lifestyle brand collaborating with a brand thats different to what you would consider as the norm. It makes sense to collaborate with a technology brand to be able to keep up with todays consumers who expect interactive experiences with brands when they go shopping.

The videos below introduce and explain the cirtual wall in more detail. I think this is a brilliant idea! And as visual merchandising is something that New Balance tends to be a bit lack lustre in  for the UK I think campaigns such as this are perfect to take inspiration from to bring something more interesting into stores to help consumers interact with the brand on a higher level.