STONE ISLAND X NEW BALANCE
Surely one of the most influential player in fabric innovation, Stone Island, and one of the most recognisable species in the footwear game, New Balance, teamed up early last year to introduce their first collaborative sneaker: the RC Elite. Highly anticipated by the sneaker crown when first announced, the result looked, in a true alliance effort, half-running shoes, half-city shoes, merging Stone Island’s ever-present penchant for intricate fabrics and technologies with New Balance’s normcore roots. This time around, the two industry heavyweights are reuniting to offer a new take on it.
Made of lightweight, breathable 3D knit upper, the RC Elite V2 comes in two colourways—either in vivid red colourblocked with New Balance 574-sourced overlays in rich, muted burgundy, or in acid green and city grey. Rooted in performance (we’re talking about Stone Island, after all), the silhouette pushes boundaries in design and technology with its propulsive FuelCell cushioning and full-length, energy-returning carbon fiber plate, bringing innovative twists to what you’d usually see on a pair of New Balances.
