If New Balance weren’t already blowing up in Australia thanks to the popularity of the 2002R and the 550, as well as several high profile collaborations with names like Joe Freshgoods and Salehe Bembury, they’ve just teamed up with the boys at Up There Store for their latest 2002R collab.
Up There has long been regarded as a destination store for out-of-towners, and the go-to spot for Melburnians. They’re known to carry a curated, but extensive collection of globally sourced men’s fashion brands, as well as always having the freshest drops from the biggest names in footwear. Where a lot of streetwear stores around the world pride themselves on creating a stand-offish vibe, the Up There squad are known for their knock-about approach and friendly service.
Up There are no strangers to collabs, partnering with both Saucony and Asics in the last little while on releases, each one doing more to put Melbourne (and Australian) sneaker culture on the map.
But right now it’s all about the connect with New Balance on the ‘Backyard Legends’ 2002R. It’s a shoe that takes you instantly to summer – when the hot plate is sizzling, the tennis ball is getting a third coat of electrical tape on one side, and the frothies seem like they’re three levels deep in an icy cold esky.
Anyway, let’s take a look at the shoe.
The shoe features a white mesh upper with green suede overlays – perhaps a nod to the great Australian backyard and the feeling of grass between your toes during a long session of summer cricket.
Silver reflective N logos (safety first) pair nicely with the mesh upper, while subtle baby blue highlights sprinkled throughout the upper are some of the nicest touches on the whole shoe.
There are actually a lot of differences between this shoe and a regular 2002R – Up There have packed it full of easter eggs that I won’t explain for you. Rather, I’ll point you to @smallgainz on Instagram who broke it all down way better than I could (because honestly I didn’t know a lot of this stuff when I got the shoes – I’m what you would call a surface level nerd).
The one detail I will call out is the tongue – it’s actually the tongue from a 990v3, with the standard ‘USA’ replaced with ‘AUS’. Very nice.
The other thing to mention are the lace shrouds – I like to think the fellas have included these for those backyard kick-to-kick sessions when you want to load up a barrel but don’t want to get your laces dirty. This also makes it a shoe for all seasons, not just the summer of cricket.
The lace shrouds are sick; it’s not something we see too often, and touches like this or extra laces really show the level of care and attention that has gone into the release.
We’re having a moment right now in Australia – I think of shoes like the PASS~PORT SB Dunks or the HAL Studios x ASICS Gel-1130, and now the Backyard Legends 2002R and I’m glad to have each of them sitting pretty in my collection.
PS, did you see the launch video that Up There dropped to release the shoe?
