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Back in 1985, New Balance introduced the New Balance 1300 to the market for a jaw-dropping $130 (nearly $400 when adjusted for inflation). Fast-forward to 1995, and Shinichi Kubota, the Vice President of New Balance Japan, took on a project to revive the model, which had become a cult classic among Japanese sneaker collectors. Since then, it’s returned every five years as the 1300JP, though it’s been just about that long since we’ve had standard GR colorways of the model hit shelves as well. That’s about to change as official images of a Navy color have emerged.
While the 1300JP is a near 1:1 recreation of the 1985 version of the New Balance 1300, the GR colorways opt for a slightly tweaked build. The upper retains its premium pigskin suede paneling, seen here in navy hues on the mudguard, midfoot, and heel overlay, while the base layer comes with a knit mesh in a light blue. Some slight changes are found on the midfoot N logo and the TPU heel clip, the latter featuring an updated NB font and the former done in a slightly larger finish.
