The New Balance 327 should really need no introduction. It's not often that a new sneaker silhouette attracts as much attention as the 327.
New Balance 327
In April 2020, the model debuted in collaboration with Charaf Tajer's French-Moroccan brand Casablanca. Reactions to this collaboration were overwhelming when it was unveiled at Paris Fashion Week. Today, the sneaker is still on many people's favourites list.
The New Balance 327 was designed by Charlotte Lee, a sneaker designer from Manchester. Charlotte has been working for the brand since 2014. Yet she herself was surprised by the rapid growth in popularity. "I don't think anything could have prepared me for the demand or the positive reaction (…) Because I used so many models from our old catalogue, I almost expected an overwhelming amount of negativity."
The silhouette is inspired by the New Balance 320 and the Super Comp. Both kicks came out in the 70's, and in 1976, NB introduced the N-logo on the 320s. This is why the 320 was also used as inspiration. What's remarkable about the idea behind the kicks is that Lee didn't want to make another shoe that looked like it came from the 1970s. In her own words, she says, "In creating this shoe, I wanted to make sure I was inspired by the past, but in a completely different way than was done before."
So why is the New Balance 327 so well received?
When Lee looked through the New Balance archives, she was looking for things that were iconic and stood out for her as being 'different'. Putting those elements together created a shoe that felt relatively recognisable to the consumer, but at the same time a bit of: "Oh, I haven't seen that before".
And it may sound strange, but the reason the 327 was so well received was because the silhouette came out of nowhere. The sneaker was not in the spotlight at all. It happened naturally because of the good reactions.
Successful 327 drops
After the very successful launch with Casablanca, New Balance released multiple colorways. Most of these releases are now sold out, but click the button below to see which 327 kicks are still available:
On our news page we will keep you informed about New Balance drops and other sneaker related content. Download the Sneakerjagers app here as well! With this app, you will always have the latest information at hand.