With its elegant silhouette and clean, simple lines, New Balance’s iconic T500 has remained an unparalleled example of tennis shoe design since its release in 1982. But this timeless classic just got a little edgier and more alluring…
Following a series of sell-out sneaker collaborations, Danish brand GANNI has now turned its attention to the T500, reimagining the global athletic brand’s classic trainers in its own inimitable style. It’s the third in an ongoing series of collaborations between the two brands. The latest and much-anticipated iteration sees the quintessential tennis shoe enhanced with signature GANNI touches.
This limited-edition release introduces a bold new expression of the timeless T500 silhouette. Reimagined with signature GANNI leopard print, it blends an iconic tennis sneaker with a twist of bold, rebellious style. The GANNI x New Balance T500 is crafted using recycled materials throughout, featuring 100 per cent recycled content in some of the upper vamp and tongue mesh, along with polyurethane overlays and recycled polyester mesh detailing.
The reworked New Balance T500 is GANNI’s first major shoe collab with the brand, aiming squarely for future classic status. It’s crafted using recycled materials throughout, with 100 per cent recycled content in the upper vamp and recycled polyester mesh detailing. Of course, just as much thought has gone into its new look. While GANNI’s interpretation retains the traditional white colourway of the original, this iteration features a flash of leopard on the heel as well as a leopard inner sole.
Leopard print is unmistakably GANNI. For the past decade or more, the Copenhagen-based brand has used leopard as a neutral, making it a signature print across their collections, season after season. With its distinctive connotations of power, independence and nonconformity, leopard print brings a hint of rebelliousness to the quintessential T500 design. In this sense, it’s a minimalist classic with a playful, maximalist twist.
GANNI x New Balance
This year, GANNI became a patron of CPHFW NEWTALENT, and has also been creating opportunities for new talent as part of its special creative partnership with New Balance. The two brands invited four emerging Copenhagen-based creatives – MASCULINA, Bonnetje, Camilla Skov, and Ojuna Njama Petersen – to re-envision the T500 alongside the official launch this month.
“Collaborating with emerging talents and independent creatives has always been a source of joy and purpose for me, and I am thrilled to share our platform with these talented individuals who embody such strong and unique creative visions,” says GANNI’s creative director, Ditte Reffstrup. “The T500 silhouette is a true archival favourite... and it was an honour to be invited to reinterpret this iconic shoe some 40 years after its inception.”
The GANNI x New Balance T500 is exclusively available at ganni.com and GANNI stores worldwide.
