Kith releases New Balance trainer informed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Sep 17, 2023

Kith founder Ronnie Fieg has teamed up with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to release a New Balance sneaker that was informed by Wright's utopian Broadacre City sketches.

Called New Balance Made in USA 998 – Broadacre City, the shoe is a celebration of American architect Wright's sketches.

Fieg, the founder of American lifestyle brand Kith, worked with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to come up with a shoe that reflects the textures and colours of Wright's sketches for Broadacre City.

This was an unbuilt utopian city project that appeared first in Wright's 1932 book The Disappearing City.

The sneaker features the classic mesh upper of New Balance shoes, accented by pigskin and hairy suede overlay panels, which Kith said adds a "varied sense of texture to the design."

It has been produced in two different colourways that draw from Wright's sketches. Each has earthy greens and reds alongside off-whites.

The campaign imagery was shot at Taliesin West in Arizona, Wright's last home and the current headquarters for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which manages the intellectual legacy of the late architect.

"The campaign is shot on location and features Taliesin West staff members," said Kith.

The sneaker will be available to customers through a drawing opening on 14 April through Kith's app and will also be sold at Kith's Tokyo store the same day.

On 15 April, a pop-up will occur at the theatre at Taliesen West, where additional units will be sold.

A number of other iterations of Wright's legacy have been released through the foundation in the last year, including a series of furniture by Steelcase based on the chairs and tables found in the SC Johnson Administration Building in Wisconsin.

Additionally, Spanish architect David Romero has been creating visualisations of Wright's unbuilt work, which includes a model of Broadacre City.

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