NEW BALANCE x N. HOOLYWOOD 996NHB

What’s worse: an in-store release only (not in your area) or an online release when you’re on vacation with no service? I was a victim of the latter when N. Hoolywood (along with other Asia-based shops) released their 996 pack. This pack consisted of ALL heavy-hitters in Asia such as Mita, United Arrows and Atmos. The N. Hoolywood was by far my favorite and I knew I’d need to find a proxy after my vacation.

As soon as I landed back on USA soil I put my feelers out, but the only bite I got was someone willing to sell their pair for $320 shipped, which wasn’t happening haha. I probably DM’d close to 15 people via Instagram, and even began searching friends of friends in hopes of someone grabbing a pair.

Billy Li aka @bli_sizeniner is a very well known NB collector who has been interviewed multiple times for his collection, and is also the reason behind me owning this pair today. Billy was on the lookout and soon found my desired size in-store by someone who didn’t pick up their winning raffle. What are the odds right?

The shoes arrived and they met every expectation I had of them. The only surprise was that they came with 3 pairs of laces: yellow on black, black on yellow, and black on grey…all 3 of which are great, but I’m sticking with these originals.

This to me is the definition of a collaboration. This 996 isn’t just a suede shoe with chosen colors; N. Hoolywood took full advantage of this silhouette and incorporated rubberized webbing, embroidery throughout, nubuck, suede, 3m, and 2 different meshes…not to mention creativity behind the branding. Companies need to get outside their comfort zone and start bringing projects like these back! This will be the best of 2019 for me.