The New Balance 550 is now for sale at Pirri both online and in our store!
Founded in 1908, New Balance has always had one goal: to create shoes that offer comfort, support and balance. In its first 83 years, New Balance had several popular models such as the Trackster, 320 and 574, but the most popular model came out in 183; the New Balance 480. During this period, New Balance produced products for the tennis, boxing, baseball and basketball.
The New Balance 550 was designed in 1989 by Steven Smith. Steven Smith is a popular sneaker designer you may know from his work at New Balance, or his collaboration with Kanye West for the Yeezy Boost 700. When designing the New Balance 550, Steven Smith followed the trend in the footwear industry, namely: low top sneakers.
In the basketball world, the New Balance 550 never really caught on for several reasons. New Balance's competitors, such as Nike and Converse, had a range of similar shoes, but the marketing of these companies was better. Furthermore, competitors came up with better produced shoes, making the New Balance 550 a flopped basketball shoe.
Yet the New Balance 550 is still a popular sneaker today, but how is that possible? New Balance owes this to Aimé Leon Dore, a fashion and lifestyle brand founded by Teddy Santis. In 2018 Teddy Santis came across a photo of a low New Balance sneaker. Since then, Teddy Santis teamed up with Joe Grondin, senior manager of Global Collaboration at New Balance, to revive the New Balance 550.