New Balance 574 Suede 'Pigment'
Colorway: Pigment · Style code: ML574ESG · Price: $2452 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: New Balance 574 'Pennant Pack' (ML574) · New Balance 574 'Incense' (ML574AA2) · New Balance 574 'Natural Indigo Maple' (ML574AB2) · New Balance 574 'Rain Cloud Maple' (ML574AC2) · Alpha Industries x New Balance 574 'Sedona Seige Grey' (ML574AI2)
Suede is in the name for a reason. This version leans on material rather than on colour, with pigment, a dark ink-toned navy, carried across the entire upper so nothing distinguishes one panel from another except the nap and the seams between them. Napped leather in a deep shade does something specific under light: it goes nearly black in shadow and lifts to a clear blue where light strikes it directly, so the shoe shifts as it moves.
New Balance listed the pair at $80, the price the brand has kept the standard version of this model close to for years. No release story is attached and no pack name; it is a colour in a range. The shape underneath is the one Steven Smith arrived at by fitting a 576 upper to a 577 sole, an inexpensive route into the brand's off-road 500 series, and a single-tone suede treatment is the version of it that has aged best. Take away the colour blocking and what remains is a proportion, and that proportion is why the model is still in production.