New Balance 9060 Incense Raincloud Arid Stone

Part of New Balance's 9060 line. This release has a suede upper in Sea Salt/Raincloud/Black. Three tones, none of them loud: incense, raincloud and arid stone read like paint chips from a studio rather than sneaker colours, and that is the register the 9060 does best. The silhouette takes the visual language of the 99x runners, a family that ran from the 990 in 1982 through the 991, 992 and 993, and distorts it, adding volume and curve where the originals kept their lines straight. A smoky brown against grey and pale sand suits that distortion, because the eye reads the shape before it reads the colour. New Balance built its reputation making shoes people bought for fit rather than looks, so a silhouette this sculptural still needs a muted palette to stay believable.