New Balance Returns To 80s Basketball Aesthetics With The 950

The New Balance 550, arguably the hottest sneaker on the market a few years back, now has a sleeker contemporary sibling. The ’80s basketball aesthetic has fallen off hard in favor of the retro running wave these past few years, a shift New Balance has benefited from as much as anyone, but the look remains sought-after enough to work into the mix. That’s why cuts like the Air Jordan 1 and adidas Forum have maintained steady shelf presence in recent memory, and why the Boston brand has landed on a new approach.

The play here is to pull back and relaunch. As of this writing, the 550 is completely absent from the New Balance website. It’s been replaced by the New Balance 950, a slimmer yet aesthetically on-par retro-inspired model debuted by Cooper Flagg earlier this year. This upcoming colorway is the same look Flagg previewed in the tunnel back in April, clean as can be with a white leather upper and pre-aged Angora midsole.

Whether the 950 can pick up steam at a time dominated by mesh runners remains to be seen, but if New Balance were to, say, put in a call to Teddy Santis, these could catch on much like the T500 did a few years back.

The New Balance 950 “White/Angora” releases October 1st for $120 via the New Balance website. Check out official images below followed by our Where to Buy section for purchase links on release day.