We're Releasing a Shoe with New Balance Numeric

And...it's fuzzy!

If you follow us on Instagram, you’ve likely noticed that we’ve been announcing our collaboration with New Balance Numeric. For a collaboration as momentous as this one, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a proper rundown of what we’re releasing. So, here it is:

The Shoe

It’s the New Balance Numeric 1010, the pro shoe of…yep, Tiago Lemos. We love skating it, it’s truly emblematic of the most advanced footwear technology (a subject we dig into quite a bit on VP). Also, Tiago is a friend of Village Psychic. See below :)

Tiago + VP co-founders Mike Burrill and Spencer Gillespie. Photo: Mike Heikkila.

Design Process + Colors

We ran through several concepts with NB Numeric design gurus Leif Hauge and Jeff Mikut, the design gurus behind New Balance Numeric. After workshopping several color scenarios, we chose one inspired by a J. Crew + New Balance colorway from the early 2010s that, to us, looks like the platonic ideal of New Balance shoe: on the dressier side of sporty, with a distinctive color palette that’s overall understated but still eye-catching from far away. Plus, these colors align with the brand colors we use for pretty much everything Village Psychic.

The source of inspiration.

Materials

Here’s where we really had some fun. We had the choice between a smoother suede and a fuzzier one, and we chose the fuzzy for a couple reasons. First, it’s unique - although unbeknownst to us during material selection, there would be several shoes coming out alongside ours using fuzzy suede:

Cricle Cage Mountain Derby - Image via Street Night Live

Converse x Golf LeFleur Slip-On

Timberland x nonnative

Additionally, we wanted a material that would be appropriate for the unpredictable Spring weather here in NYC. Something to keep your feet warm (but not scorching).

Also, gnomes. We’re big fans of gnomes, the fuzzy little guys have become something of a mascot for VP. To honor this connection, friends & family pairs of the NB +VP shoes come with a gnome figurine (seen above). The choice of fuzzy suede was, at least partially, a tribute to gnomes.

So, there you have it. Be on the lookout for our shoe release next week 🧙‍♂️.