crooked tongues magazine News Features

Over the last few years, New Balance have been putting out plenty of product that never used to make these shores. We quietly lusted after the United Arrows 997.5 design from a few years back that applied the pink pop to the upper but switched the 997's clean midsole for the more elaborate ABZORB sole that was usually affixed to the 998. It was a low-key mix of 1991 and 1993, and nobody could even be bothered to replaced the '998' emboss from the outsole. But it didn't matter, because we were smitten. We assumed that the hybrid came about because the 997 midsole wasn't in production, and if truth be told, we prefer the 997 one, but it still makes for a good shoe. 

nonnative are another Japanese brand offering Japanese-made mixes of tradition and technology that doesn't come cheap. Their trademark seems to be an emphasis on tactile that can make it a hard sell online. Their GORE-TEX hi tops merge functionality with a high fashion simplicity, but these CM997s are far better and clock in at half the price, so that's an accessible entry into the nonnative worldview. The only major compromise is that they're Chinese made, losing the angled toe of 997s from back in the day and ending up a little bulbous at the front (though we still found that they fitted true to size). That's overruled by the soft leather toe, nubuck rear and tongue, plus a subtle Scotchlite underlay. Just in case it was all getting a little too beige for you, the blast of blue on the medial side sets these off perfectly — it's inappropriate, yet highly appropriate. We can't explain it. 

We'd seen blue peek through the sole amid neutral tones  on Chinese-made 999s in the mid 2000's, but nonnative have opted to amplify it. Shades of beige and a wildcard, with plenty of 1990's tech in it makes these another collaborative triumph from New Balance's Asian division. Hype friendly, chino friendly, denim-friendly (if you can get past the bleed-magnet rear section) and a crowdpleaser, it's a shame that there's not enough of these to go around when these appear in the Crooked Tongues store next week. Once upon a time you'd be paying some ignorant proxy prices on something like this, but this is a time when the fever for impending suede and mesh US-made 996s, 998s and 1300s is wild. And on the China-made front, we've seen Stussy, HECTIC and UNFTD CM996s, Burn Rubber MT580s and Concepts 999s all fly out. New Balance is the brand that's going to own the next 12-months via their smart approach to the archive and careful choice of partners.