New Balance has enjoyed major success in the last five or so years, mainly due to the trend of mesh runners and “dad shoes” taking off. During this period, the brand hasn’t rested on its laurels and pumped out more of the same that we’ve become accustomed to, a la the 99X series or 574s. Instead, NB looked into its extensive archives to bring back previously abandoned designs. Some models, like the 550, 650, 1906R, and 2002R, have returned from the dead and enjoyed a second life on the market. This year, New Balance looked to the Y2K era to revive a model with almost no discernible history before reentering the market — the New Balance 1000.
First introduced in July 1999, the New Balance 1000 was initially marketed as a performance runner and gained little attention. Unlike the brand’s iconic models, such as the 574 and 990 series, the 1000 had a brief, uncelebrated stint in New Balance’s catalog. With limited historical documentation, little is out there about its original run. However, its comeback in 2024 has garnered attention, propelled by collaborations and the current trend for retro mesh runners. Kevin Trotman, the product manager overseeing the revival of the 1000, spoke with Sole Retriever to provide insight into its origins and how it came back in a recent interview.
Origins of the New Balance 1000
Unlike the chunkier models that New Balance was known for at the time, the 1000 featured a streamlined upper with less paneling and an “untraditional” construction. Yet despite its forward-thinking design, it didn’t succeed like other New Balance models, as in 2001, it was removed from catalogs. Other models derived from the design include the 714, launched in America in 2001, and the 1010, a Japan exclusive released in 2000.
“There’s not a ton out there on the 1000,” said Trotman, “It was one of those models where I feel like it made a real shift within the turn of the century when it came to not doing your typical tip, saddle, foxing, almost like the construction of historical New Balance shoes.
One possible reason for its initial failure was that New Balance didn’t fully embrace the emerging lifestyle and streetwear markets. Trotman acknowledged that the company wasn’t actively positioning the 1000 to compete in that space. "We weren’t playing into the lifestyle and streetwear side of things at the time," he explained. "It was a performance running sneaker. And I think that’s part of why it didn’t take off—it was ahead of its time, but we weren’t marketing it as a lifestyle shoe."
Its relatively short run—only two years on the market—combined with minimal advertising contributed to the sneaker’s obscurity, making it a hidden gem within the New Balance archive. If searching online, it’s tough to find vintage pairs that aren’t of the original men’s pair, which took on a black, yellow, and white color palette.
The Revival Story
In 2024, the New Balance 1000 reemerged, largely thanks to the growing trend for vintage-style runners and collaborations with popular designers. The shoe’s comeback began with a Joe Freshgoods collaboration in April 2024, followed by an inline release of the Silver Metallic colorway and a three-pack by Aimé Leon Dore.
The true beginning of the revival can be traced back to late 2022 and early 2023, marking the period when the real work started. Kevin told us there was a vintage pair of the 1000s, the black, yellow, and white pair pictured above, sitting in his office. “So that was sitting on the top of our cubbies where we keep samples, and it had been there at least like a year and a half before we even like had conversations around like ‘Okay, are we bringing this back?’” From there, the sneaker only went through two to three rounds of sampling before it was finalized for the market.
Recreating the 1000
Previous revivals, notably the 550, were much more difficult for New Balance. The brand had to source a pair from Japan, break it down, and rebuild the shoe entirely, as the original blueprints were long gone. Thankfully, New Balance had a pair of the 1000s in the archive, and Kevin also tracked down a pair for his research on eBay.
The design team sacrificed a pair, breaking down the original sneaker to understand its construction. "It's important to understand and see kind of how sneakers were built, luckily because it wasn't 35, 40 years ago that we released the sneaker, it wasn't as dramatic as when we brought back the 550." Trotman also emphasized how important it was to retain the shape. "We're obsessed with shape at New Balance," though they slightly revised the upper pattern to modernize it and modified the collar height. "It's not a 1-to-1 recreation; I'd say it's more like a 0.7," Trotman noted.
One aspect that the team was keen to preserve was the sneaker’s unique toe-down view, a characteristic that Trotman found particularly appealing. "It’s just a super fire toe-down," he said.
The Present and Future of the New Balance 1000
The reintroduction of the New Balance 1000 has seen a positive market reception. Recent colorways like the Real Pink Sandstone edition have generated significant buzz. "The pink-and-green colorway kind of went crazy," Trotman admitted. "It wasn’t something that I expected to go like that." Inline colorways and collaborations have kept the 1000 in the spotlight, helping it transition from an obscure archival piece to a must-have for sneakerheads. At this writing, Kith has just launched its collaborative rendition of the sneaker, and JD Sports/Finish Line has launched a three-pack of neutral colorways.
Looking ahead, New Balance has plans to expand the 1000’s footprint in the sneaker world. "You’ll definitely see more material applications and more partners working on the 1000," Trotman hinted. "The 1000 is one of those models that stands out—it’s not your traditional New Balance sneaker, but it still harps back to our DNA."
With more collaborative projects on the horizon and likely plenty of inline colorways, the 1000’s journey is just beginning. What started as an overlooked performance runner has again proven New Balance’s ability to dig into its archives and revive designs for today’s sneaker culture. Even if underappreciated in its time, silhouettes like the 1000 can still find an audience when the moment is right.
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Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
