Backwards is the way forwards
It really does appear that backwards is the way forwards for many big name brands in terms of new footwear styles. Following on from British brand Hi-Tec’s decision to bring back its 1980s style ‘Hi-Tops’ (see www.footwearbiz.com, January 9, 2008), New Balance recently re-launched its 991 model at the Pitti Immagine Uomo trade show in Florence, Italy.
First manufactured in the UK in the 1980s, the 991 became one of New Balance’s most enduring series of running shoes in the 1980s and ‘90s. It has now been brought back to life and is once again being produced at the company’s Flimby facility in the UK.
Commenting on the renaissance of the model Jonathan Ram, managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “We have been hand building shoes in the UK for over 25 years and those techniques we have developed and now employ have enabled us to maintain the tradition of classic quality. Now, the shoes that were state-of-the art masterpieces at the time they were first engineered, have been exquisitely refashioned and re-launched as timeless examples of models that broke the mould then to become the original legendary shoes of today.”
