British menswear label Drake’s has teamed up with sports-casual brand New Balance for a unique collaboration, reimagining New Balance’s recently launched Made in UK Allerdale shoe.
The reworked Allerdale features brown leather and pigskin, a FuelCell-equipped cup sole, and an Ortholite insole. It is designed like a Japanese nylon ripstop tongue with an an embroidered flying NB logo, and distinctive D-ring lacing. The shoe is available with three pairs of paracord-inspired laces, designed to channel the UK's legacy of country pursuits and craftsmanship.
Michael Hill, Creative Director, Drake, terms the collaboration as ‘natural fit.’ It aims to embrace the vintage feel of the Allerdale with the addition of brown leather, green suede, and a jolt of orange paracord with the laces. These are colors and materials that the brand often incorporates into Drake’s collections, he adds.
Drake and New Balance have also developed a limited edition apparel collection to coincide with the launch. This collection highlights the British outdoors and includes several Drake’s staples.
Key pieces feature an unstructured Games blazer and matching fatigue trousers in waxed herringbone cotton, a packable shirt, a cagoule, and a utility vest in ripstop nylon. The collection also offers hiking shorts, button-down shirts, graphic T-shirts, knitted ties, and a tote bag crafted from fabrics used throughout the collection.
To promote the collaboration, the brand has launched a campaign film starring actor and comedian Charlie Cooper, who road-tests the Allerdale shoe and the limited-edition apparel in the picturesque Lake District.
