Is New Balance’s ‘Grey Day’ 57/40 the sleeper hit of the year so far?

New Balance’s most iconic colourway is back for the month of May.

Every year, the Boston-based athletic-wear brand holds ‘Grey Day’ a celebration of the colour that is most synonymous with the brand, oft imitated and never duplicated.

For the 2021 iteration, the Boston-based sportswear brand has brought back its most iconic shoe, the classic grey 574, which was launched in the 1980s as a running shoe but quickly became one of the most versatile and long-lasting shoes on the market.

The versatile, clean design is to New Balance’s 574 what the Chicago is to the Jordan 1—the OG, and the one you should consider adding to your rotation.

That’s not all they dropped—there’s also two limited shoes, one the 574 ‘Un-N-Ding’ a 574 without the N logo, as well as an all-grey colourway of the 57/40, the newest silhouette in the New Balance roster.

The 57/40 is one of the sleeper hits of the year so far, and while the earlier iterations this year mimicked the early 90s Apple logo in its colour pattern to celebrate the silhouette’s borrowing from both 80s and 90s elements, its ‘grey day’ colourway has shown the potential the new shoe has moving forward, showing that New Balance is more than a throwback brand and is capable of adding to the brand’s legacy while paying tribute to its heritage.

Further, as Nikes and Yeezys have seen their launches so unnecessarily limited and overwhelmed by resellers, having a shoe ‘Worn by Anyone’ is called for by shoe enthusiasts now more than ever, with even Kanye West commenting in an interview last summer, while debuting the design for his Foam Runner Yeezy, that shoe pricing and availability is a huge problem hurting the industry.

The Grey Day campaign featured athlete ambassadors including Coco Gauff, Jamal Murray, Sadio Mane, Sydney McLaughlin and Tiago Lemos.

New Balance had a big brand ambassador pick up this week, with Manchester City star Raheem Sterling joining the fold.

The shoe is available in the UAE here, or in Footlocker Power Doors in Dubai Mall.