NEW BALANCE 574
»HISTORY CLASS PACK«

BY MORPRIME FOR HHV.

There are a number of silhouettes that we’d consider staples in the regular, everyday sneaker-enthusiast’s rotation – in fact, for many of them we would implore you to invest both time and effort into selecting a carefully sculpted model extracted from New Balance’s Boston archive aligned with personal desires. Providing a level of comfort that ventured into previously uncharted territory, our topic of conversation breaks bread between purposefully explored elements of design, a history running so thickly through industry veins whilst influencing every step within touching distance and of course – the steps taken towards reproducing a numerical installment closely resembling that (we’d assume) to be fit for royalty.

In partnership with one of the many contributing to Berlin’s persistently prominent heartbeat, MORPRIME Industries™ were enlisted by German retailer, HHV, to explore NB’s humble 574 undertone – specifically, their recent »History Class« pack.

Join us in exploring the yesteryears of Boston’s timeless classic.

Whether education dictates history enrollment as standard or an optional course – there is no sheltering from an appreciation for footwear-born technology advancing at a rapid pace, or simple palettes inspired by naturally aspirated springs.

In honour of the many steps taken prior to launch, this capsule celebrates six pivotal models passing their hereditary traits onto 88’s 574 birth – broken down in an iconically recognisable way. We see a navy-compound on behalf of the ENCAP-welcoming 1300’s »JP« iteration – leading nicely into a dose of 565 navy-grey make-up, known for pre-empting PU and EVA combined midsoles prior to the aforementioned heel-tech taking centre stage.

Stepping away from cool blues, the 700 palette AND materials coated a third installment nicely – detailed with black underlays behind darker toned branding throughout. Two warm, almost autumnal colourways pay their respects to the hard-wearing 850 in tandem with a 770 known for immeasurable stability, transferring flawlessly between models. Lastly, we see a flavour of soft grey-cum-navy panels seen on the 670; making that a six-piece from New Balance.

Like many other brands rife with years of successful sporting heritage, New Balance pocketed more than its fair share of achievements. We’ll step back to 1906, the year New Balance Arch Support Company set off with William J. Riley at the helm. Little over three decades later, NB followed their chicken-foot inspired, tri-support point insoles by launching running shoe number one. Boston Brown Bag Harriers athletics team were on the receiving end – presented with a plush kangaroo leather-ridden set of spikes surrounded by soft outer-crepe-soles.

This was a stark contrast to 1988’s 574 introduction, not a single spike in sight and certainly no trace of crepe – New Balance had birthed a technical runner that performed both on AND off the track. Immense comfort levels teamed with stability caps to keep your average wearer on the straight and narrow, made this pair’s journey onto pavements exceedingly simple – in fact, we may go as far to say effortless.

On occasion, hip-hop’s finest have articulated their love for the all-rounder with none other than Raekwon recalling his cardinal pair at the age of 14 – an Uncle-given gift accompanied by a »rich-looking« sweater. There’s a reason these memories remain so pronounced, right?

Who – we hear you ask – was the mastermind at our 574’s orbital centre? Well, if you’re reading this and unfamiliar with Steven Smith’s incredibly powerful portfolio then keep reading; Smith was an architect of fine taste, pulling influence from depths unknown to human-hands. Aesthetically, the shoe itself is a hybrid of two pairs found in Smith’s enormous back-catalogue. Pasted across a reconstructed 577 sole unit, we find an expertly repurposed, repriced 576 upper previously scrapped as 997 throwaways.

From this point, it took form as the 500-series narrow-footed ‘value’ counterpart. Brand-wide, internal last-construction varies alongside numerical identification, which is why we deem on-foot feel to be important throughout each purchase. Brushing details with a fine-toothed comb, most 500-series pairs use Straight Last One (SL1) thus exemplifying a tighter forefoot against stability-orientated SL2 chapters found beneath 600-series product. Earlier, we’d made clear reference to Smith’s admiration for the untainted planet that we call home – kindly, his 574 contributions borrowed mechanical components found beneath automotive shells, integrating a footwear sway-bar below rows of eyestay for starters. Outsole accentuation reflected slick BMX tyre tread, blurring the lines between functionality and proven methods in getting from A-to-B.

Now for a note of amply named comfort, hidden deep within New Balance’s hind-mounted ENCAP stability wedge. Digging beneath the surface, ENCAP was essentially Boston’s approach to championing two era-pertaining midsole materials; every wearer benefits from portions of soft yet reactive EVA foam epicentres encapsulated by a durable, stiff-set polyurethane outer-rim. ENCAP remained the keystone working tirelessly to ensure each step was better than the last.

So, that’s it – the fine-lined points above detail reasons as to why Smith’s New Balance 574 demands superior levels of attention from social circles engulfing dedicated Straight Edge diehards and Boston brand patriots of uninterrupted tri-decade commitment alike.

This was, and continues to be the archetype for a casual »footwear-er’s« ol’ faithful – a case in point of age-old regionally exclusive palettes laying foundations in which their predecessors would follow.

In honour of this pair’s legacy, we were given the »History Class« pack.

We grant NB’s premium 99x range adequate limelight – so why not drag the amicably priced 574 adjacent?