It’s hard to believe but it took until 2010 for Undefeated and New Balance to work together on a project. For their first foray, the iconic 1500 was to be the foundation of their partnership. The team at Undefeated was inspired by military designs during the Gulf War for this project. As a brand, Undefeated has often used the military as inspiration and focused on authenticity for their work. This project was no different.
The inspiration behind the New Balance Desert Storm 1500 is based upon military designs from the Gulf War. The light and dark brown panels with red and blue hits are colorways inspired from a Desert Storm operations patch. The premium suede fabrication of the shoe has been chosen to correspond with real army boots that were worn in the Gulf War. The chocolate chip camo, which is found on the shoe bed, interior lining, and shoe bag, is a specification to commemorate the design?s introduction in the Gulf War. 1500s feature embroidery detail on foxing and tongue of each shoe and collection call out on shoe insole.
This project was just the first of the partnership between the two prolific brands. Further collaborations included versions of the 574, 580, and even another 1500. Did you grab the UNDFTD x New Balance 1500 “Desert Storm” five years ago when they released?
Nick Engvall
Mike Guillory
Robbie Falchi