Junya Watanabe Works Up World-First New Balance Loafers

Every year, a phalanx of designers descend upon the city of love to showcase collections that often reinterpret formalwear with dress shoes on-foot and at Paris Fashion Week 2024, one designer challenged the grain by debuting a world-first pair of cross sectional loafers, made in conjunction with New Balance. 

Junya Watanabe is the culprit in question and alongside a mainline assortment of experimental suiting, the protégé of Rei Kawakubo also carried on with under the radar collabs involving Palace, Carhartt and Levi’s. 

The transformation of everyday garments has become indicative of any Junya Watanabe project and in a similar vein to his weird trousers and patchwork suiting, the New Balance 1906r loafers cover a taboo that should never be explored, however there’s something about the utilisation of the running shoe’s sole unit to prop up a classic penny loafer upper that simply just works. 

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Coming in the Junya house colours of triple black and white, each pair also boasts a 1906r heel cage and branded tongue tags. 

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This one of a kind collaboration will go live as part of Junya Watanabe’s Fall Winter ‘24 season later this year.