New Balance 2002R

This New Balance 2002 premium running shoe, launched in the 2010s, will not stay in shops for long due to its price and lack of popularity. However, this one is coming back to the 2020s, in an innovative design and with a much more accessible price tag. The innovative version continues to rise in the sneaker world and is on its way to the top. Let's discover its history.

The 2002 version was launched in the 2010s as a logical follow-up to the 2001 version. The New Balance runner, although technically surprising, will not be appreciated by the general public, because of its lack of aesthetics.

It is with the arrival of the New Balance 2002 that this problem will be solved, without half measures between the two pairs. The 2002/1906 midsole is linked to an extremely efficient suspension system. The problem is that this technology is very expensive, and New Balance has been criticized for the price of its shoes.

After selling running shoes for only $100 for almost 30 years, the 2002 New Balance is now priced at an unaffordable $250 for the average person. The general public did not really approve of the quality improvement that justified the high price, and quickly moved away from this running shoe. The New Balance 2002, on the other hand, narrowly escaped being completely discontinued from the collection.

At the end of 2010, the "Dad Shoes" movement emerged and attempted to revive the historically crude designs of New Brunswick. With the strong potential of their old-school looks and an approach to transmute the heavy, vintage feel of their shoes into a consistent trend, New Balance decided to re-launch their NB2002 runner with the suffix R: the New Balance 2002R reappeared with a slightly more reasonable $130 price tag.

It was the marketing of the NB2002 trainers in the Far East that partly enabled the brand to offer better value for money and therefore lower prices.  And with the help of NB Japan's design director Tetsuya Shono, the 2002R was reinvented with the midsole borrowed from the 860v2.
However, the profile continues the NERGY technology in areas that are important, such as the heel, with a hybrid process that adds finesse to the design: the visible forefoot of the original model is replaced or wrapped in ABZORB foam, while the upper of the trainer remains largely the same, with a sumptuous layering of nubuck and premium leather on a soft, yet super-tough mesh.

When it was first launched in 2010, the New Balance 2002, dubbed the "Rolls Royce of running shoes", was a true representation of New Balance's ingenuity.

The trainer was developed in the United States and will be known as an incredible innovation for its time. It would be wrong to dispute the veteran status of New Balance in partnership speculation, with a staggering array of collaborations: Joe Freshgoods, SNS but also Bryan Giles or the 

Up There Backyard Legends.

Although the New Balance 2002R will be released in the 2020s with various high profile partnerships, it is nice to know that the New Balance 2002R has been shod by the vice president of footwear for the famous Versace brand, Salehe Bembury, in a blurred orange alliance with the New Balance brand.

The return of the profile to New Balance's core departments makes it clear that other collaboration partners will be inspired by the canvas and timelessness that the 2002R offers.

It is clear that its success in 2021 lies in the various iterations and colour schemes it will reveal over the course of the year. Indeed, several solid colourways in the design have proven to be quite symbolic, such as the "Protection Pack" (originally named "Refined Future").

New Balance has gradually updated the model by gently moving away from the original colour of the New Balance 2002 from the 2010s. Currently, the New Balance 2002R is available in no less than twelve colourways, with new shades still planned for the future. As long as New Balance continues this progression, building on the design but continually renewing it, the 2002R should maintain its place on the podium for many years to come.

Indeed, in 2021, New Balance renewed itself, launching the 2002R "Refined Future" pack, an iteration of the leftover 2002R, developed by New Balance designer Yue Wu. Sometimes also referred to as the "Protection Pack", these designs were a huge success and became a staple for the brand, becoming the most coveted GR models of the year.
 
The original trio of colours made their debut exclusively in the US, through the Extra Butter online store and directly in shops. It's true that the lines outside of the Lower East Side and Long Island City areas were considered the most extensive ever known for a New Balance GR model. No less than a year later, New Balance has a second pack of "Refined Future" 2002Rs in the Extra Butter shop.
 
The New Balance 2002R model is still in the news and the NB brand is still providing us with great colourways and collaborations. Get your hands on your New Balance 2002R at the best trainer retailers around the world.