The 990v6, the newest model to represent Teddy Santis’s relationship with the Boston-based brand, is presented by the creative director of New Balance’s MADE collection.
New Balance and its collaborators: Teddy Santis
As has been a feature of the brand since its founding, New Balance carefully chooses its partners. It looks for athletes and designers who can bring a new perspective to the table while also understanding the history and legacy of the business.
No one was surprised when Teddy Santis joined New Balance’s creative team. Santis’ inherently New York sensibility and commitment to storytelling are evident in his brand, Aimé Leon Dore, which combines reinterpreted influences from Ralph Lauren, professional sports, and Americana, a style clearly created in the United States but evolved from a Japanese reinterpretation. An ancestry that made it ideal for New Balance’s MADE collection, which focuses on the brand’s heritage and character, not only in the location of its factories, but also in the craftsmanship and use of materials and color.
New Balance has always been a draw for non-traditional creators, who often form a special bond with the brand. Teddy Santis, through his relationship with the product and the history of creation in the United States, is able to update the designs of some of his classic models.
A history of Teddy Santis New Balance collaborations
Teddy Santis and New Balance began their relationship in 2019 with a collaboration managed through his brand, Aimé Leon Dore, a two-pronged strategic alliance that set Santis’ creative work for New Balance apart from previous collaborations with his brand.
Their first collaboration was a 997 Made in USA, which differed from Santis’ usual brightly colored palette. In 2020, while still under the ALD label, the partnership maintained its mix of styles, with two new editions of the 1300 and the 827, a model hidden in the New Balance catalog.
Teddy Santis reintroduced the NB550, an obscure basketball shoe that had little influence on the courts when it first debuted in the late 1980s, but perfectly captured the spirit of the era. The NB550 returned as a discovery and, thanks to special editions with Santis, has become one of the most visible silhouettes of the moment. Another 1989 basketball model, the 650, was revived as a special edition with ALD and later in various colorway versions.
Teddy Santis, New Balance Made in USA
Teddy Santis is officially introduced as creative director of New Balance MADE in 2021, a position that will bear fruit a year later with three categories: Elevate Legacy, a legacy of classic colors, Uniform Staple, which refers to the daily character of the pieces designed for everyday use, and Quickstrike, which discusses the unique vision of the materials and colors chosen.
Teddy Santis has maintained his connection to American craftsmanship since his first collaboration with New Balance, with models like the 990v1, 990v2, 990v3, 99v4, and 998, as well as collaborations with Aimé Leon Dore that renew silhouettes like the NB Rainier Boot or 860v2.
The Teddy Santis lineup now includes four MADE in USA models: 996 and 998, 990v4 and 990v6 in white, black, and gray.
