It might sound crazy but 15 years ago, the internet was a completely different world compared to what it is today, and that is especially true for sneakers. Back then, the message boards like NikeTalk and ISS were one of the only places you could find information on sneakers outside of an Eastbay Catalog or Boon magazines. In fact, many sneakers were never even released on a global scale. Most releases, particularly collaborations, were released locally by one store…the collaborator.
One of the collaborations that made waves through the sneaker forums back in 2006, was a collaboration between Stussy, realmadHECTIC, Undefeated, Mita, and New Balance. Using the New Balance MT580 as a starting point, the five brands created a handful of wild colorways that by most standards were far from what sneakerheads in the United States were interested in. However, bold color palettes were trending back then, and in Tokyo, you would find similar colorways almost everywhere you looked. That series of collaborations on the Mita exclusive MT580 silhouette would set off a movement of New Balance collaborations and make sneaker enthusiasts in the States pay attention much more closely to what was going on in Japan.
This week Stray Rats introduced their New Balance MT580 with a photoshoot that pays tribute to the original release of the MT580 in the US, which happened back in 2007. While the colorways from Stray Rats pay homage to the aforementioned Stussy x Undefeated x madHECTIC x New Balance MT 580, the photo shoot is a glimpse into what sneaker “photo shoots” on the message boards looked like back in the day.
Look for these to release before the end of the year and add them to your Throne if you’re looking to relive 2007 all over again.
