New Balance 574
Colorway: Black / Raspberry · Style code: ML574OHR · Release date: 2018 · 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)
Black with one accent is the least risky way to colour a 574, and raspberry is a more interesting pick than the usual red. It is pink-shifted and slightly cool, closer to a berry than to a fire engine, so it reads as a deliberate choice rather than a default sports accent. Set against a fully black upper it registers at only a few points on the shoe, and the rest of the design is left to shadow and seam lines.
New Balance released the pair in 2018 at $90. This version went out without a nickname, which is the normal state of affairs for the model: most of its catalogue exists to fill out a colour range, and only a fraction of releases get a name attached. What stays constant underneath is the silhouette Steven Smith put together as the budget entry in New Balance's off-road 500 series, built by mounting a 576 upper on a 577 sole. The shoe sells as a lifestyle sneaker now, but the tall heel, the wrapped toe and the wide sole all come from that first job description.