Miu Balances Are Never Going Away

Miu Miu and New Balance’s ongoing partnership is one of the strangest luxury-sportswear team-ups of recent years. Both Miuccia Prada’s youthful sub-label and New Balance are currently on fire, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that the sneakers that they’ve collaborated on thus far probably aren’t quite what I’d have expected.

Like, to me, Miu Miu’s vampy Y2K flavor makes sense paired with an old-school runner like the New Balance 990 or 2002r. I could see Miu Miu even opting to go in a more off-kilter direction by remixing a totally unexpected design, like a Fresh Foam or elderly 608.

So color me surprised that Miu Miu instead continues to iterate on the New Balance 574, perhaps the Boston-based shoe company’s most normal sneaker.

For Fall/Winter 2023, the trend continues. Miu Miu’s bookish homebodies wore more colorways of the same shredded New Balance 574s that we’ve seen Miu Miu dish since Spring/Summer 2022 (expect these to also cost $950).

Interestingly, some comparatively out-there Miu Miu New Balances emerged on social media, including glitter-coated 574s.

Nothing official here and no sign of them on the runway, though.

Back to the normalcy of Miu Miu x New Balance, though. I suppose the 574 sneaker makes sense in the context of Miu Miu’s previous collabs.

The Miu Miu x Levi’s line, for instance, upcycled vintage denim jackets and 501 jeans with crystal studs and leather patches.

Even Miu Miu’s own statement pieces are fairly normal: its low-rise skirts are straight out of the early aughts and those red-hot ballet flats, for instance, are essentially normal ballet flats with Miu Miu branding.

Not that I’m complaining.

I appreciate the audacity to do something totally normal within the context of what could be an OTT runway show. I’m not paying nearly four figures for the 574s, mind you, but I can appreciate Miu Miu’s quiet confidence from afar.