New Balance and Jaden Smith Release New Colorway of Vision Racer Collab
.jpg)
Almost four months after releasing his co-signed New Balance sneaker in two options locally, multi-hyphenate creative visionary and Hollywood royalty Jaden Smith is dropping a brand-new colorway of his Vision Racer decked in the sports label’s core grey.
It might be a month late to the Grey Day party but this iteration of the heir to the Fresh Prince’s throne’s collab with New Balance takes on the brand’s signature toned-down heritage hue. With a market flooded with an abundance of color, NB has gone with grey as its go-to since as far back as the ‘80s, which provided versatility and could be worn by anyone. The brand’s running shoes in the neutral shade have gone against the grain for decades, defying trends and defining the brand’s identity as being different and making a difference. A lot like what Jaden Smith has been doing.
.jpg)
Speaking of Smith, in case you haven’t seen it yet, he also top-bills New Balance’s latest global spot entitled Impatience is a Virtue, which is the current theme of the Boston-based brand’s We Got Now campaign. Smith serves as narrator and takes center stage among a star-studded cast, which includes two-time NBA champ Kawhi Leonard, tennis star Coco Gauff, sprinter Sidney McLaughlin, and footballer Sario Mané, among others, with each highlighting what they’re all currently busy working their hardest for, like maybe winning another Larry O’Brien trophy or prepping for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. In Smith’s case, it’s continuing the work to bring clean water to communities like Flint, Michigan, which is a cause the young philosopher and philanthropist has been championing for several years now.
Now, back to the shoe. It still features all the vegan-friendly goodness we loved about it in its initial releases. Jaden Smith and NB put their heads together to produce a more sustainable sneaker that employs partially recycled materials in every element of the sneaker.
.jpg)
The synthetic leather upper makes use of 60 percent recycled polyester, which comes from post-consumer plastic rather than oil. The shoe’s insole insert foam is six percent castor bean oil, 15 percent recycled foam, five percent recycled rubber, and 74 percent virgin PU, while 98 percent of the heel carrier is made from foam and rubber left over from post-production.
.jpg)
The muted color of choice brings balance to a shoe design inspired by earlier silhouettes like the 1700 and the X-Racer, which Smith blended together while definitely pushing the envelope in terms of design. Grey does well to equalize the attention-grabbing oversized midsole which contains five percent EVA Regrind that alleviates a potential waste stream, and is by far the most noticeable feature on the Vision Racer. The clean, icy blue translucent outsole asks the important question: do you see it yet? It’s hard not to with a sneaker like this one.
The New Balance Vision Racer Grey, which retails for P7,995, is available exclusively online via Commonwealth.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
