The cheetah print on footwear is nothing new, as we’ve seen this exotic safari-inspired graphic coat on the uppers of multiple releases across different brands. New Balance, however, traditionally sticks to more refined and non-flashy colorways for its sneakers. While this rings true for most of the Boston-based footwear brand’s offerings, the latest 2002R switches things up by adding a cheetah print to the lifestyle runner.
While we mentioned that traditionally, this is not New Balance’s forte, the brand has added exotic animal prints to its silhouettes in the past, including the New Balance 1500, 327, and 610. This marks the first 2002R release that adds animal print details to the upper, as we can see in the graphic covering the mudguard, midfoot panels, tongue, and upper eyelets. Leaning into the earthy, animal-inspired color palette are tan shades on the mesh base, leather panels, and the suede overlays along the toe and collar.
