New Balance Super Team 33 series. The sneakers are inspired by fishes, which you see in every sneaker of the pack. Also each sneaker is produced in a different factory around the globe. The first one will be released in January and was produced in the USA. Definitely an interesting concept and really hot looking sneakers.

Only 33 shops in the world are carrying these, release party is tonght and they WILL sell out. Torn btw yellow and rainbow ones.

Just look at the f'ing BOX, these are beautiful.












New Balance Super Team 33: Made in the USA




It used to be that sneaker connoisseurs polished their Nikes for special events but relied on their New Balances for rugged runs and long days at work. Then there was the ultra-successful 574 outburst, part of the retro and color crazes that started a few years back and still have a grip on the sneaker subculture. Then hardcore sneakerheads worldwide started to covet some NB heat emanating from Japan and Europe - the dynamic colorways, the rich materials - these were something to put on a shelf, and through it all, there have been the New Balance constants: comfort, craftsmanship and a fantastically loyal customer base, which brings us to today.

New Balance is pulling out some steamy, new school heat matched with cold, hard old school attention to detail, quality and U.S. manufacturing. Not only that, but they're jumping into the "tier zero" mentality, meaning that these new puppies aren't going to be easy to leash. In fact, New Balance might have just moved from the "long day at work" shoe to the "long night sleeping outside for them" variety! Let's see...

ST33: The Meaning

New Balance's foray into ultra exclusives is called the Super Team 33, or ST33 for short. Sounds interesting, but what does it mean? Carey Platto, the Product Line Manager for classics at New Balance, explains it this way; "We were bouncing around what to call this collection and how to brand it. We wanted the name to tie into our U.S. manufacturing and be a little bit esoteric, not obvious, so it would create an element of discovery - people would want to know, 'What's Super Team 33?' Well, they are a team in our Maine factory in Skowhegan, called Super Team 33. They were chosen to be on this team, to be a part of this cool collection. It's definitely a pride thing." And just to add to the theme, they're being sold at 33 doors internationally.

ST33: The Product

Right off the bat, you can see that this is no run of the mill New Balance product. You can barely recognize the staid 1400 silhouette with its shiny scales, perforated gills and iridescent colors. It's like the Atlantic Ocean swamped the Skowhegan factory while they were being made, leaving some beautiful fish behind. Since when did New Balance mess with fish? Designer Andrew Nyssen explains: "I was just looking at materials. I hadn't seen anything out like it yet, and I hadn't tried it before. Everything on the shoe was new to me: heat transfers, iridescent white - my motivation was to have fun with it and make shoes that people feel happy with. I know that feeling of having shoes that make me happy. "Once he decided on fish, and on three fish in particular, another challenge cropped up. "We had to get good pictures of the three fish: the clown fish [think Nemo], the butterfly fish and the neon fish. That turned out to be harder than we expected. We almost bought some of the fish just to observe, but we thought that might not be right. I ended up drawing the fish on the boxes myself. And we pledge that no fish were hurt in this project!"

Beyond keeping the world safe for fish, Andrew's got some other big ideas about what this model will do for New Balance. "We're hoping it'll raise the bar and say we're not just a mass market brand. Before, we had more been selling the UK and Japan stuff as our high end stuff. New Balance here [in the U.S.] has been straight up navy and black. Now sneakers are more personal; they reflect your style. You either love it and rock it, or you don't buy it. The ST33 definitely has a love it or hate it aspect; this will evoke reactions no matter what." You can say that again.