The Sneaker-Loafer's Successor Is Made From Snakeskin

There had been no New Balance sneaker like the 1906L before it stomped down Junya Watanabe’s runway in 2024, and no sneaker since has matched its freak. But now it finally has competition.

The New Balance 1890A has finally slithered along, over a year after its snakeskin yellow form first graced our eyes, and it’s every bit as outlandish as we remember. 

This is ostensibly a traditional moccasin, something akin to a Clarks Wallabee, except underfoot is the techy sneaker sole of a New Balance 1890 runner. In that sense, it’s just like its sneaker-loafer predecessor: an old-school leather formal shoe plonked atop a sneaker sole. New Balance is doing its neat hybrid sneaker trick, again! Except this time, the resulting shoe is butter yellow and overlaid with curving yellow snakeskin panels. 

It’s kind of like the 1906L’s younger, wilder sibling.

After lots of leaked photos and the unveiling of an as-yet-unreleased COMME des GARÇONS HOMME collaboration, the first 1890As drop for $199.99 on July 3. 

The last time New Balance launched a hybrid formal sneaker of this ilk, it kicked off a wholesale shift in the industry. Suddenly everyone, from trail running experts HOKA to sportswear giant Nike to elderly sandalmaker Keen, started following New Balance’s lead and putting out their own sneaker-loafers. Will the 1890 sneaker-moccasin cause a similar revolution? The early signs are that the revolution already began. 

Moncler just unveiled a Clarks Wallabee sneaker that occupies a similar hybridized niche to the NB 1890A, as do adidas’ Climacool boat shoes and Mizuno’s wavy sneaker-moc. This is the new sneaker-loafer.

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