New Balance: From Chicken's Foot to Global Icon
There's a detail that would make anyone smile: the New Balance epic didn't begin in a hyper-technological laboratory or in a meeting room, but by looking at... a chicken.
It's 1906, Boston is a city teeming with immigrants and workers, and William J. Riley, a shoemaker with great curiosity, observes the bird's legs and their perfect balance.
From there, the intuition: to create a foot arch support system capable of reducing the fatigue of those who spent twelve hours a day on their feet in factories.
He called it "new balance." A simple name, an epic destiny.
The first running shoes arrived in 1938, handmade and distributed to a local running club, the Boston Brown Bag Harriers. The shoe was designed for performance, for those who wanted to run without compromise. From the very beginning, New Balance became "different": it wasn't fashion, it was biomechanics applied to sport.
The passing of the baton came with Eleanor and Paul Kidd, an enterprising couple who expanded production. In 1960, they created a stroke of genius: the TRACKSTER model, the first running shoe available in various widths. A quiet but powerful revolution: not all feet are the same, so why should shoes be?
Then, in 1972, the story changes radically. It's the day of the Boston Marathon, and Jim Davis—a visionary entrepreneur with the timing of the great and the folly of the bold—buys New Balance. Six employees, thirty pairs of shoes a day. A tiny world that, with him and his wife, Anne, will become a global empire. The obsession remains the same: quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, footwear that must stand the test of time, not just fashion.
The real media boom came in the 1970s, when Runner's World magazine named New Balance models among the best running shoes in the world. From there, it only grew: in 1982, the 990 debuted, selling at the time for $100, an astronomical sum that many considered "commercial suicide." Instead, it became a legend. Even today, the 990 is synonymous with status, sought after by athletes and streetwear enthusiasts alike.
Today, New Balance is a successful paradox: an icon of urban style, without ever denying its sporty soul. The 574, born as a running shoe, has become a manifesto of casual style. The 530 and 550 are now ubiquitous in metropolises, from the hipster neighborhoods of Brooklyn to the streets of downtown Milan. And new models, like the futuristic 9060 or the 1000, straddle the line between technical innovation and eye-catching design.
New Balance has kept part of its production in the United States and England, unlike many competitors who have outsourced everything. This political as well as industrial decision has strengthened the brand's image as "honest" and close to its people.
That's why today, more than a century after that curious study of chicken feet, New Balance has become much more than a sports brand. Shoes that tell stories and span generations without losing credibility.
The new collection arrives on Sabot.tv: the 9060 in many colors, the brand new 1000, the Hierro, and all the other timeless icons. Because while fashion fades, balance remains.