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J.Crew’s always had an uncanny knack for cherry-picking from the type of brands that serve as a perfect complement to its broader menswear assortment. In the heady days of the early 2010s, its wood-paneled stores were some of the few places you could buy the kind of hard-to-find labels discussed with fervor on certain corners of the blogosphere. (It still stocks a heavy-hitting roster of perennial favorites from the era, including Alden and Barbour.)
But there might not be a brand more closely associated with the retailer’s heyday than New Balance, the Boston-based sneaker giant J.Crew’s been working with since 2010. Under the stewardship of designer Frank Muytjens, who took the reins after Todd Snyder left to launch his own expansive menswear universe, the retailer rolled out a slew of New Balance collaborations, helping cement its status as the rare big-box chain with a clearly-defined point of view.
Over a decade into the partnership, the two are showing no signs of slowing down. Today they’re debuting yet another sneaker, a gently-tweaked 992 that takes inspiration from the Big Apple—though not in the way you might think. In lieu of turning towards, say, the rich architectural heritage of America’s most famous island, the two brands looked beyond the five boroughs, focusing on New York’s oft-forgotten outdoor attractions instead. Created in partnership with New Balance’s Made in the USA sub-line—the same one Aimé Leon Dore’s Teddy Santis was tapped to run earlier this year—the sneaker was all-but guaranteed to be a hit even before it was updated with splashy hits of premium suede and outdoors-ready ticked-laces.
So if you’ve got an excursion to the Catskills planned in the near future—or want to dress like you do—best to make moves STAT. Nothing the duo works on together sticks around for very long, and we’ve got the nagging suspicion this release will be no exception.
The New Balance X J.Crew 992 NY is available online and at select J.Crew stores starting today, October 9th, for $175.
