New Balance 327 Black

Part of New Balance's 327 line. This release has a mesh upper in White/Black. The 327 is the one modern New Balance that is openly a design exercise rather than a revived runner. It takes the visual cues of the brand's older racing shoes, the flared outsole and the low slung profile, and blows the block N up until it runs across most of the side wall. The block N is the house mark, so making it the entire shoe is a statement about how confident the brand had become in its own identity. In black, that confidence gets quiet. You keep the exaggerated proportions and the oversized logo but lose the contrast, which turns a loud silhouette into something you can wear without thinking about it.