First dropping in 2022, the New Balance 9060’s made a ‘yuge impact on the fashion community, with many Y2K enthusiasts jumping at the sneaker for its retro-yet-futuristic design conveyed through its colourways and shapes. Three years later, sneakerheads are continuing to fawn over the iconic shoes.
“We’ve been lucky. I mean, our trend that was meant to be overnight now is about four years,” New Balance Vice President Darren Tucker told PEDESTRIAN.TV, reflecting on the 9060’s longevity in fashion.
As someone who’s chronically online, there’s no doubt that microtrends and influencers play a huge part in what pops and what flops, especially when it comes to fashion. Think of microtrends like strawberry print, bubble skirts and *that* mobwife aesthetic.
When asked about the secret behind the 9060’s success, Tucker said he believes a lot of it has to do with New Balance’s relationship with the consumer — with a side of luck.
“It started [with] 9060 [then it] was 2021… I think a) it goes back to even that running question, like the consumer needs to want to connect with the brand, there’s an element of, ‘I feel safe with the product, like I feel like a I’m being respected with price, the value I get out of what I’m paying for is important,'” he told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“And then you stay on trend with colour. So, and that’s where I go back to, like, having a new product allows longevity.”
He also adds that New Balance’s marketing team have done a superb job in connecting consumers to the brand, which allows the head honchos to hear what consumers are yearning for in the market.
“The team’s done a good job in not turning off marketing and not turning off communication to the consumer, like I think a lot of us are guilty of,” Tucker shared.
“I think it’s a multiple of answers, but I definitely think that we’ve been lucky with innovation. Lucky is probably the wrong word, but the work that’s gone into bringing freshness and innovation to the consumer, and then the growth of the brand connecting with the consumer, whether that’s Run Your Way or We Got Now, and just the validation of the way the brand’s shown up is really important.”
But of course, with all trends, they come and go. So in preparation, New Balance has an innovation team has a program called “moonshot” in which they look 10 years ahead of what’s trending, revealing that it’s already set up a running pack for 2027.
“There’s a lot of trend surveys and consumer research and all that done,” Tucker revealed, emphasising the amount of research they put into creating products for years beyond now.
“There’s a lot of flow on from fashion where the partnerships in Paris Fashion Week and all that sort of stuff are really important for trends on the way we show up for trends.”
For the running fiends — and I know there’s a ton of you — Tucker shared that New Balance has a road map on all the technology that’s set to take the running world, particularly running shoes, by storm.
“The road map goes out five, five years, ten years on, what, when we need a new product, what, how it fits in,” Tucker shared.
“The consumer can change.”
What will trend next in fashion?
While, unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball that’s powered by the mind of Vogue‘s former editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, iconic Melbourne-based stylist and major tastemaker Jade Leung — who works closely with New Balance on all their products — predicts that fashion Down Under is about to delve deep into tailoring.
“I think the whole Miu Miu collars, soft tailoring layers, but still playful with the shorter hemlines. That kind of thing,” Leung told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I think that’ll continue and stay, especially playing into spring and summer, which is cool. I think a lot of the muted tones and the presence of suede is always great. Suede is so huge in the shoes, so huge.”
With all the suede, I’m thinking loafers and New Balance does have an iconic range of sneaker loafers out there…. BRB, gonna get ahead of the trend wave.
Image source: Pinterest.
The post How New Balance Predicts The Next Big Trend In Sneakers Years Before TikTok Catches On appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
