As an official sponsor of the London Marathon, New Balance plays a big role in the yearly race. Last year, the Boston-based brand launched a special Made in UK 991v2 edition exclusively at Dover Street Market. Once again, NB is looking to its Flimby, UK, factory to produce a lifestyle sneaker for the marathon, this time the Steven Smith-designed New Balance 1500.
Typical of all Made in UK products, this new 1500 features premium materials and construction, with the upper coming covered in pigskin suede, nubuck, and mesh. Dark brown, nearly black pigskin suede makes up the mudguard, midfoot panel, and heel overlay, the latter displaying “LDN” text for London, replacing the 1500 logo. Outside of this logo change, the remaining branding details are untouched, including the grey, red, and brown N logo, the red Made in England text on the tongue, and the NB logo on the heel.


Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy attending concerts and catching the latest movies. Email: nick@soleretriever.com