Words by Offspring Community member Ash Ghandour @crepsaholic
I remember first seeing the 990 (or it may have been the 992) when I visited some family in Washington DC. I always liked creps and remember seeing my uncle wearing these. I was a young teen at the time and thought it wasn’t cool for me this side if the pond. This changed once I tried on my cousin’s shoe one day when he visited, and I immediately noticed the comfort and quality. From then I started educating myself more about the brand, and slowly building my collection. Currently the 990 v3 is my favourite New Balance silhouette with a few GRs (including a classic all grey) and collabs in my collection.
The two collabs which stand out to me are the JFG and Bodega.
The Bodega 990 is neutral and could be worn with anything, both formal and casual with a simple lace swap to blue. It became a staple in my rotation and was on my feet constantly from traveling to Egypt to clearing out things with friends due to the factors mentioned and comfort.
As for the JFG it holds personal connection as it was the first shoe I queued up for in over a decade. I was outside the New balance flagship store on Oxford Street at 6am, to my surprise no one was there and once the security team arrived, they told me all numbers were given out at midnight. I was upset and still decided to wait, after a while I met some others and they handed me a spare number. I waited my turn and luckily obtained the last pair available in my size, due to a very kind fellow collector ahead of me leaving it for me and purchasing another size due to his not being available, adding some personal value to me.
With the 990s you will find there are many versions of the shoe. This relates to the company wanting to continually improve and develop the design of the shoe and keep it fresh, considering new technology and development.
These two models are the V2 in the ‘Chrysanthemum’ colourway and ‘Scarlet’ V3, both kitted out in quality red suedes, with undertones of navy blue in the v2s and greys in the V3. Both models include the traditional mesh materials that add to the comfort of the shoe. As always with NB these will be top quality as they are part of the ‘Made in USA’ collection, with the new creative direction of Teddy Santis, who is more known through his own brand Aimé Leon Dore.
It has always had appeal to those slightly older in age, such as my dad who recently ‘borrowed’ a pair and seems to love it because of comfort. I started noticing a rise in people rocking 990s around my hometown recently. I think this came into the public recently following the release of the protection pack 2002r and 550s which bought the brand to the masses. It also appeals to the younger generation and I think comfort is a huge factor, but also quality and general awareness of the brand brought back the resurgence.
I’m an all or nothing type of person. Meaning I’d go full red outfit and take colour blocking to the extreme, or I’d go the complete opposite and do an all-white or all black outfit, keeping your eyes firmly on the shoe. Now to get technical about how I style myself – I love a good accessory, for this I would consider a red bucket hat, a chequered lumber jacket, simply with a t-shirt and jeans or chinos. For one of you ladies, you may want to wear a red bag of some sort? I see a lot of ladies rocking these with a relaxed look, wearing baggy jeans, oversized tee and of course the comfy shoes. If you want some varied inspiration, check out some of the Instagram accounts on @offspringhq.
