EXCLUSIVE: Aries and New Balance Come Together for '90s-Inspired 327 Capsule

London-based Aries has continued its ongoing collaboration with New Balance, partnering with the footwear label to rework the 327 silhouette. For this capsule, Aries has mixed the silhouette’s vintage running aesthetic with references to early ’90s lifestyle trainers.

Arriving in either all-black or all-white, the collaborative 327 is constructed from a 100% leather upper. These monochrome uppers are offset with reflective details and graphics, with hits of red appearing on the laces, heel and sidewall. Alongside the footwear, Aries and New Balance have also come together for a range of apparel featuring the collaborative “Unbalanced” graphics.

Speaking to HYPEBEAST about the collection, Aries Creative Director Sofia Prantera explained its influences, “We started looking at “fashion” trainers from the ‘90s and the final design became a sort of hybrid between a classic ‘90s casual style and an Italian sport-fashion trainer with ‘00s reflective highlights. There are a lot of ‘90s casual Italian design references in Aries and Italian design in general has been a constant source of inspiration.”

Expanding on this influence, Prantera added, “Coming from a dual nationality background, there is fascination with how U.K. casual culture has adopted Italian brands with its own completely unique take and how this in turn has influenced how those brands have developed.”

The 327 is the latest in a long-line of collaborations between New Balance and Aries, stretching back to 2018’s limited-edition 990v3. “Collaborating is about relationships; building trust and understanding of each other’s goals,” said Prantera of the ongoing project. “New Balance has supported us creatively without imposing boundaries and has been extremely open to any ideas. More importantly, New Balance is an independent business who still believes in investing in people and nurturing manufacturing, it’s the only trainer company still manufacturing in the U.K., keeping skills and jobs alive even when less profitable. This is very rare for big businesses and that’s what makes it such an attractive partnership.”

Take a look at the full collection above. The latest Aries x New Balance collaboration is due to release via the Aries web store on October 30, before launching globally on November 6.

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