Sedona Slip-on - part of Nunn Bush S24 line.
Conway EZ Slip-on - part of Nunn Bush S24 line.
Huck Bungee Slide and River Sandal - part of Nunn Bush S24 line.
While at New Balance I had the opportunity to design the second iteration of the SUFMOC which was successfully initiated by Hilary Webb
It is a great camping, lounging or work from home shoe that is a 10 on the warm and cozy scale.
The task was to improve the ease of entry, incorporate more “puff” as well as accommodate those who like to step on the heel and use the footwear as a mule.
We designed the v2 to also allow for more color blocking opportunities with how the panels work together and pop certain functional aspects or features.
I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with on this project.
Project Manager - Bryan Gothie
Creative Director - Jonathan Grondin
Developer - Todd Hewett
These are now available in a few different color ways from Champs, Eastbay, Footlocker, Footaction and REI. They come in full sizes only and I recommend going down if you are in between sizes.
This is the final presentation of my personal project that I worked on throughout my 2019-2020 New Balance Apprenticeship.
We were each given a sport and and event with which we were tasked to create a collaboration with an iconic fashion designer or brand for a performance footwear design.
Players in different positions wear the same shoe. It truly is position-less basketball. What someone wears on court is the personal preference of the athlete.
What do they wear off court? Players entering the arena like to showcase their style on what has been deemed the concrete runway. Most styling is generally streetwear focused.
Players often make a bigger impact dressing up in suits which is outside of the norm and tend to draw more attention from fans and media.
The NBA All Star Game is an event during the season where fashion and sports collide, players adorn their best threads and fans worldwide take notice over a three day span.
When you think of American clothing brands, it’s hard not to mention Brooks Brothers.
A collaboration…with a common thread.
Henry Sands Brooks founded the company in 1818 and then handed it down to his 4 youngest sons who changed the name to Brooks Brothers.
Similarly to New Balance, it remains a privately owned company.
Custom interior embroidery seen here on a top coat for President Abraham Lincoln. Brooks Brothers has outfitted 42 of the 46 Presidents of the United States throughout history.
The Button Down Oxford, Brooks Brothers top selling shirt is manufactured in Garland, NC USA.
70% of all Brooks Brothers suits are manufactured in the Southwick factory located in Haverhill, MA USA, less than 7 miles away from New Balance’s Lawrence, MA location.
All of Brooks Brothers ties are manufactured in the Long Island City Tie Factory located in Queens, NY USA.
New Balance is known for innovations throughout the years.
The same can be said for Brooks Brothers.
Innovations such as the Sack Suit and Button Down Collar as well as introducing Seersucker, Harris Tweed and Argyle to America.
Quality craftsmanship has built a loyal consumer base which has led both companies to establish a rich heritage.
Both companies share a common global footprint. New Balance headquarters located in Brighton and Lawrence, mirror Brooks Brothers with a flagship store in downtown Boston and a suit factory in Haverhill.
Across the pond, New Balance establishes its presence in Warrington while Brooks Brothers’ flagship is located in London.
Brooks Brothers has peen present in Tokyo for over 40 years while New Balance has recently introduced the Tokyo Design Studio.
Rocket Mortgage Field House, the location of the 2022 NBA All Star game and the Brooks Brothers Cleveland flagship location is less than 1/2 mile away.
This offers greater visibility throughout the entire weekend through proximity.
It also offers fun teaser advertising opportunities, playing off successful marketing packages from the past.
We want to focus on TAILORED PERFORMANCE from the concrete runway to the hardwood.
To do so we will focus on three categories…
LIGHTWEIGHT, TRACTION, AND SUPPORT
Dust accumulation is high in crooks, elbows and curves
Considering braking, propulsion and lateral movement, varied orientation of many edges is ideal.
1957 Brooks President noticed the hand knit patterned socks on a golfer and asked a Scottish mill to replicate them…becoming the first American merchant to offer the pattern.
Here, we have deconstructed the argyle pattern to form multidirectional herringbone, without crooks, elbows and curves.
We will be applying this to the outsole, offering a performance driven traction pattern while telling a relatable story.
Being in Ohio, it also offers us the opportunity to co-collab with Goodyear being our rubber provider.
How can we contain the foot laterally? We will do so with 3 layers of containment.
A gore band attached to tongue, wraps around the foot while also offering layered color pop opportunities.
Webbing on both the lateral and medial offer snug support and customization through lace integration.
A flexible MCD (motion control device) heel counter/plate combination offers security and fluid motion through stride.
Orthographic views offer a look at engineered upper with medial New Balance branding incorporated. Medial outsole wrap offers protection in high wear areas due to cutting. MCD plate is visible on both sides as well.
The main color way is inspired by two jackets.
The BRILLIANT SQUADRON A jacket by Brooks Brothers was worn by the military escorts at Teddy Roosevelt’s second inauguration.
The WIND CHEATER JACKET, originated in 1978 has become a New Balance icon.
The Shearing Knit pattern is derived from Brooks Brothers’ Harris Tweed. They were the first to import the fabric in 1909 from Scotland. To this day, it is handwoven in the home of a weaver.
Melton Wool is a fabric used on the collar of suits to create a smooth collar roll. Here we are applying it to the eye row. It is dense, lightweight, and will not fray.
The eye row reinforcement is inspired by the Button Down Polo shirt.
While attending a Polo match in England in 1896, John E. Brooks noticed layers collars buttoned down to prevent flapping.
He created the Oxford Cotton Button Down Collar to which some say it is…“The most imitated item in fashion history.”
The Achilles pad is a nod to the A-Flex system found in the BB900 made popular by James Worthy.
The lace keeper is inspired by the button down placket found on Brooks Brothers dress shirts
The Motion Control Device draws inspiration from the Fethalite horseshoe shape found in early New Balance models to offer stability.
Instead of 5 lines on the heel counter referencing the 5 point flying NB, we have added a line to represent the 6 pleat shirring detail which is a calling card of all Brooks Brothers dress shirts.
The mudguard design is inspired by the standard notch lapel found on many of Brooks Brothers best selling suits.
The Poly fill logo on the heel is a nod to the puffy “N” found on BB 650, 550 and other vintage New Balance Basketball Models. It also underlines the theme of both companies sharing a common thread.
Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece logo is embossed on the suede foxing. The webbing represents the ribbon suspending the sheep in the logo. It is recognized as a symbol of Quality, Heritage, and Excellence…qualities that both companies exemplify.
Here are few additional color ways to showcase color blocking and shearing knit pattern capabilities.
Material and Color exploration made possible through the collaborative effort with Kim Liu, color and material associate at New Balance.
New colorway inspired by Junko Tabei...the first woman to reach the top of Mt. Everest as well as climb the Seven Summits.
The wife and mother formed the first all women expedition “Ladies Climbing Club” to conquer the highest point on earth.
Raising and saving money by teaching piano lessons and creating her pants from shower curtains and gloves from car covers, she did just that.
After overcoming an avalanche at Camp 2 which took 3 days for her to recover from, Junko, a featherweight standing at 4’9”, reached the summit on May 16, 1975.
She completed the Seven Summits in 1992 and would go on to conquer the highest peaks in 76 different countries.
Her inspirational words ring true with anyone...”Do not give up. Keep on your quest.
Design, construction and color inspired by the Cyanogaster Noctivaga “Blue Bellied Night Wanderer.”
A relatively new discovered species and genus of miniature fish found in the Rio Negro tributary of the Amazon River. It is completely transparent with the exception of the bright colors found in the head, gills and belly. The Cyanogaster Noctivaga is also nocturnal, only being active at night.
I wanted to design something pulling from these unique characteristics in regards to translucent layering and color palette while also speaking to the fish’s nocturnal activity in relation to night runners. The support and protective elements of the design being more amplified at night.
I also attempted to design a shoe that could in essence work for any brand…changing the logo treatment as well as midsole compound
I’ve had the idea of an interchangeable shoe for a while. Pulling inspiration from a 1959 convertible Cadillac which has a vinyl snap on and off boot to cover the convertible top when down.
This way the upper and tooling can be interchanged with other styles depending on the weather, terrain or simply style and color preferences.
Inspiration was also drawn from the free and Nike Considered lines with its welted inspired upper/tooling connection.
For this particular colorway I chose from the actual 1959 Cadillac automotive finish color palette to coincide with the original inspiration.
Hand selected by industry judges and Garrixon to the top 16 out of over 1300 submissions. Unfortunately did not make it further through the public voting rounds however it was a great experience and opportunity for more visibility and further design exploration.
New Balance All-Rounder Cricket Boot. Designed for all over the pitch play, inspired by and catered to all aspects of the game and movement of the athlete.
Working with the Field of Play team during my apprenticeship at New Balance, I was fortunate enough to design the Clippers colorways of the OMN1S for Kawhi to wear during the first half of the 19-20 NBA season. An amazing opportunity to showcase how important the construction of footwear is in regards to the ability to color the silhouette in a variety of different ways to greatly change the overall look of the design.
Footwer Design - Jonathan Grondin
Color Design - Kyle Page
This is my concept for the 2018 Pensole World Sneaker Championship presented by Footlocker and Wacom. I wanted to focus on expressing individuality through the design and materials. Please take a look at my accompanying video below for further in depth explanation.
Throughout the voting process I developed additional promotional graphics as well as alternate colorways to gain further interest. I was fortunate enough to make it to the top 16!
