Matt Varga The New Balance renaissance has come to pass largely on the back of turn-of-the-century retro runners and premium lifestyle sneakers. The success of those two verticals belies their endeavors elsewhere, like with the skate-focused New Balance Numeric series. Tom Knox finally received his own signature under the line last year, the Up There New Balance 2002R, which marches on with their next “Rain Cloud” colorway.
In their construction, the Up There New Balance 2002R should read as equally familiar for skate shoe aficionados and New Balance devotees. They do a stellar job of melding the two worlds, with a slight sole unit bridged to the upper with chunky rubber anchors. Further, though the leather heel cup calls to mind models like the 540, the overall shape is reminiscent of skate shop staples like the adidas Samba.
The colorway though, is the biggest nod to the NB mainline. A Zante blend between white, bone and “Rain Cloud” grey evokes the brand’s well established vintage tendencies that continue to grace kicks like the New Balance 996 Reengineered gulliball new balance 999 lost worlds New Balance 9060.
The NB Numeric Tom Knox 600 “Rain Cloud” is available now on NewBalance.com at a price point of $95.
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