Todd Snyder's New Balance 997 Is an Ode to the Sneaker's '90s Heyday
As Whitman put it: Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes). In other words: I know what I said about sneakers and boots earlier. And now I'm saying something different. What's so hard about this? I am large. I contain multitudes. And right now, Todd Snyder's collaboration with New Balance is making me want to chuck every boot I own out the window and re-devote myself indefinitely to the sneaker.
The latest must-have New Balance silhouette caps off a banner year for the brand, one that saw the Boston-based sportswear behemoth link up with a star-studded cast of talented collaborators, yielding five (count 'em!) stand-out cameos in our annual round-up of the best sneakers of the year.
Well, the year ain't over yet, and New Balance sure isn't finished. Earlier today, the brand dropped yet another piping-hot collaborative banger, this time courtesy of its ongoing partnership with Todd Snyder, the Midwestern maestro of modern menswear. Dubbed the 997 Triborough, the special-edition silhouette—available in navy, burgundy, and good ol' gray—pays tribute to NB's iconic Steven Smith-designed running shoe, first introduced in 1990 and then retired less than a decade after its release.
The newly revamped version of the style once again features the "Flying NB" logo that first graced the sides of early 997 models, and hasn't been seen since the sneaker was discontinued in the mid '90s. Taken in aggregate, the reimagined 997 represents a triumphant return to form (helped along, of course, by a heavy dose of '90s nostalgia) for a style whose heyday was all too short-lived.
All that snow's got to melt at some point, right? (Right?!) Either way, it's almost beside the point. Because shoes like these call for setting aside all reasonable thinking and acting purely on your gut instincts. And right now, my gut instincts are telling me to cop these sneakers—and fast—before I spend the rest of the winter regretting that I missed out on them, and then inevitably fork over double their retail price on the secondary market a few months down the line. Trust your gut, man. It's trying to tell you something.
The Todd Snyder + New Balance 997 Triborough is available now via the Todd Snyder site.
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