In a colourful world, grey is increasingly intriguing. The New Balance brand has a particular fondness for the colour grey, having already shown the world grey running shoes in the 1980s, one of the most important in the brand’s history. To celebrate the ongoing ‘grey holiday’ in May, the short film ‘Grey Days’ is being premiered, along with several new shoe and clothing models.
When someone asks me what my favourite colour is, I answer without hesitation: grey! Why? It is versatile, timeless, always looks good and works perfectly when combined with other colours. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about fashion, interior design or architecture. Grey always looks good on its own and in the company of other colours. For this reason, it deserves a recognised place in the colour palette.
Why is New Balance so committed to the colour grey? In the 1980s, the brand launched the 990 and 574 models, sports shoes with high quality and a grey suede upper. A pair of the 990 model cost $100. Not everyone could afford such an expense, so the shoes quickly became an object of desire, and the lucky people whose feet they found began to wear them every day, matching them with jeans or even elegant outfits. It was a breakthrough that showed that sneakers could be worn for more than just sport.
Since then, the grey shoes in the New Balance portfolio have become a matter of course. The brand still produces classic designs today, but also designs new models in this signature shade. The occasion to present them is the ongoing celebration of the colour grey in May. A special short film entitled ‘Grey Days’ premieres today, 10 May, which pays tribute to the brand’s history and recalls its importance in sneaker culture. The film consists of seven short episodes, which together form a seven-minute production. Each part depicts a different aspect of the brand’s history.
This film celebrates not only what the colour grey means to us as a brand, but also what it means to New Balance fans. (…) It is also an expression of the ubiquity of the colour grey, which appeals to people all over the world, from supermodels in London to dads in Ohio to sneaker lovers in Toyko. Grey is a colour for everyone, representing authenticity, versatility and timelessness, taking our heritage into the future,” said Chris Davis, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Merchandising at New Balance.
The production quality was taken care of by American Haiku. The film was a collaboration between creative directors Thom Glover and Daniel Wolfe, along with Elliott Power. The director of photography is Norm Li, the Stray London studio is responsible for the superbly realised retro 1960s animation, with cinematography by Samuel Bradley.
The film depicts scenes from the lives of Americans who cite the memories they have of New Balance shoes during everyday situations. The Oscar-winning frames are accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack, building up the atmosphere of good old cinema. The whole thing is presented in shades of grey, of course!
You can find the film as well as the latest news from New Balance for Grey Days on a special website HERE: https://newbalance.pl/greydays.
source: press materials
Read also: Shoes | New collection | Trivia | Featured | whiteMAD on Instagram
Singer Cat Burns and rapper Sainté in a campaign to promote New Balance’s grey 574, 327 and 550 models:
I prepared this article in collaboration with New Balance.
