Aime Leon Dore x New Balance 860v2
The 860v2 is one of my favorite non-made pairs from new balance & is one of those models that looks great in photos and has a very unique contrast to it. The OG set of 860's with ALD were pretty well executed, and is honestly the reason I ordered another set during the pre-order period.
Materials: the base layer of this design is essentially all white & cream. The mesh is a cream, big hole mesh that feeds into the vintage runner/dad shoe trend. Weird note, the mesh color has a subtle coffee dye tint given the lighting 🤷. I'm not really sure how to explain it but that's what it reminds me of. Moving onto the panels, they went with a synthetic panel in a white color. I always enjoy ald collabs bc they will usually sprinkle subtle branding throughout their designs. With these, they put the 'aime leon dore' logo on the tongue. However, my favorite feature on these is the ALD crest logo placed on the back heel, it's slightly difficult to notice bc of the font color, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Overall, I feel like they did a nice job on the design, but I low-key prefer the orange pair a little more.
Comfort/Sizing: the 860v2 is one of the few models that I've been able to wear after my back injury. The comfort is pretty squishy since it uses the same outsole as the 2002r & 1906r, therefore, the comfort will be similar. For sizing, I went with my tts & they fit well, & have a little wiggle room, but not enough for me to go down.
Overall Opinion: I feel like if you take an all white 860v2 and let it age for a few years, this is similar to what you would end up with, which is fitting given that is essentially ALD's vibe as a brand. I personally really enjoy the 860v2 & prefer the on foot look more than the 2002r & 1906r. There were 2 other colorways that came out with this pair & after seeing in hand pics, I kind of like the orange pair the best, followed by these, then yellow.