If you lived through the ’90s and love hip hop music, you’ll remember Hype Williams’ over-the-top million-dollar MTV music videos of the time. One video particularly stands out as being innovative for the time: Janet Jackson and Busta Rhymes’ “What’s It Gonna Be”. Joe Freshgoods has taken that inspiration and applied it to one of the sneakers in the New Balance 1890 pack. And just one look at the shoe and you’ll know which is which.
“What’s It Gonna Be” was ahead of the times. Remember that chrome T-1000-like effect, where Busta and Janet morphed into different things. And then there was Janet’s metallic purple dress. That’s exactly what Joe Freshgoods was going after with the one sneaker’s design – a sneaker that looks like a music video that came from the future.
This is the brand’s 12th collaboration with New Balance, and they’re clearly not running out of inspiration. The 1890 silhouette can be a boring shoe, but with the right colors and story, it’s now turned into something special: a tribute to ’90s hip hop.
The second shoe with the fiery red, orange and black design is also meant to be inspired by hip hop artists: Missy Elliot and Juvenile’s “U Can’t Resist”. There’s no music video for that song, so the fire look is probably just inspired by the track itself.
Ultimately, the two colorways, “Finger Waves” and “Naughty Things”, complement each other. Both pairs feature mesh uppers with a tie-dye-like finish. The packaging is pretty hot too. Each pair comes in a silver steel diamond plate-style box with a window to view the shoes without opening them up. Apparently this is a direct nod to director Hype Williams and his music video, too. The windows are meant to be show his signature fisheye lens shots.
There’s no official release date yet, but “coming soon” is enough to get people talking about the Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 1890 pack.
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