Brand: New Balance

Model: 990v6

Release Date: April 7, 2023

Price: TBC

Buy: New Balance

Editor's Notes: When New Balance revealed its 990v6 midway through last year, the responses were mixed to say the least.

The sixth iteration of NB’s celebrated 990 series, the v6 was met with hostility most because it looked too different to its v5 predecessor which, I’m sure we can all agree, remains the greatest silhouette to date.

Equipped with a new name, new features (including a FuelCell midsole), and an all-round new look, the 990v6 officially launched with the masses late last year and now nearly six months on it’s returning in the second of its core colorways: black.

Slated to land online on April 7, the silhouette once again boasts pigskin and synthetic overlays on the upper which allows for a free-flowing look from heel to toe across the mesh underlay.

The evolved and room-dividing design’s most dramatic change occurs on the inside of the sneaker, however, with the addition of a FuelCell midsole, a feature most commonly found in NB’s range of performance footwear.

In short: the 990v6 is a sportier and more streamlined version of the v5, a silhouette that also encountered a similar backlash when it was introduced in 2019.

Like the v5, the v6 already seems to be winning the masses over with its new black makeover only helping its cause.

For now, we’ll have to make do with mainline releases and while no plans of the 990v6 being the center of any collaboration have been revealed thus far, when NB does get the ball rolling (which can only be a matter of time), the 990v6’s popularity will soar.