The Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 650 Is Inspired By Michael Jordan

UPDATE September 5: Joe Freshgoods took to Instagram to share more details about his New Balance 650 project. Unexpectedly, the colorway is inspired by Michael Jordan. Yes, you read that correctly. The upcoming release is limited to 500 hand-numbered pairs and asks the question: “What if the story was different?” The question and sneaker imagine a world where MJ signed with New Balance instead of Nike in the 1980s. The inspiration comes from Jacobus Rentmeester’s 1984 photo featured in Life Magazine, where a young and unsigned sneaker free agent was photographed in New Balances. The photo in question would go on to inspire the Jumpman logo and a later lawsuit between Rentmeester and Nike (Nike won.) The Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 650 launches on September 9th.

Joe Freshgoods has reached the point where he can casually tease an upcoming collaboration while promoting a current project. The latest footwear teaser from the Chicago designer comes in the form of the high-top New Balance 650 silhouette. Joe included the vintage basketball sneaker in a lookbook for his Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox Mitchell & Ness Classics collection. The early look shows a mixture of materials and sail shades reminiscent of his “Conversations Amongst Us” 550 collaboration. Despite offerings from Aime Leon Dore, the 650’s popularity has paled in comparison to the 500, but with Joe’s cosign, I could see the overshadowed silhouette gaining momentum. No release date has been set.