Ronnie Fieg x New Balance 2011: Kith’s First Original

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• Overview
• The Story Behind the “2011” Name
• Design and Materials
• Colorways
• Release Dates and Locations
• Why This Release Matters
• What to Expect Next

Fifteen years after Ronnie Fieg opened the doors to Kith, he and New Balance are marking the milestone with something the two have never done before: an entirely original sneaker silhouette. The New Balance 2011 isn’t a retooled colorway of an existing archive model, the way most of their roughly 90-plus prior collisions have been. It’s a shoe built from scratch, co-designed by Fieg and New Balance footwear designer Sam Pierce, and it carries a name that points directly back to where this whole partnership began.

The shoe will debut on Friday, June 26, 2026, with a wider release following on Monday, June 29. It’s the most significant moment in the Kith x New Balance relationship since the brands first linked up over Black Friday weekend in 2011.

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The name isn’t a model number pulled from New Balance’s internal catalog system, the way “990” or “574” would be. It’s a date: the year Fieg’s Manhattan boutique first opened, and the same year Kith and New Balance released their debut collaboration, a pair of 574s in a “Grand Opening” pack of green and red. Fifteen years and dozens of releases later, the 2011 becomes a kind of victory lap, a shoe named after the moment the entire relationship started.

Fieg has described the project’s design language through the metaphor of a tree growing over time, a small seed turning into something far larger than he originally imagined. That framing shows up throughout the rollout, from the storytelling around the apparel collection to the names given to individual colorways.

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While the 2011 is being billed as Kith’s first original New Balance silhouette, it isn’t built from nothing. The shoe pulls its sole unit from the New Balance 2002, complete with a full-length, visible ABZORB cushioning unit reminiscent of the early-2000s running shoes that have become a major reference point across New Balance’s current lineup, including the 1890. The upper, on the other hand, is new. Early samples suggested an upper influenced by the archival New Balance 2000, and the finished version blends layered suede, leather, and mesh into something that nods to classic NB lifestyle runners without directly copying any single model.

That mix gives the 2011 a silhouette that feels instantly recognizable as a New Balance shoe, while still standing apart from the 2002R, 990, and other retro runners that have anchored Kith’s prior NB work. Sample tags spotted earlier in development referenced “1890 v1” and “Kith 2011,” details that sneaker watchers had been parsing for weeks before the official unveiling. Reports also point to material experimentation across the line, including boat leather, canvas, pigskin suede, nubuck, and micro-perforated panels, giving the broader collection more textural range than a typical four-colorway drop.

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Four colorways will headline the debut, with at least two confirmed by name so far: “Leaf Green” and “Sakura Flower,” a pink-and-burgundy pairing. Both lean into the tree-growth concept driving the collection’s storytelling, the green representing foliage and the pink-toned pair nodding to cherry blossoms. The remaining colorways had not been fully detailed at the time of the official reveal, though Fieg’s own teaser posts showed several additional samples in muted, earth-toned palettes consistent with his usual approach to New Balance projects: simple color stories built around fabrication rather than heavy branding.

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The rollout happens in two stages. The first comes on Friday, June 26, 2026, as an exclusive pop-up release at Kith’s West Hollywood store, which will also debut a dedicated New Balance space within the location to coincide with the launch. That gives the West Coast a brief window of exclusive access before the shoe goes wider.

The second stage arrives just three days later, on Monday, June 29, when the 2011 becomes available through Kith’s website and its other retail locations. Pricing and specific drop mechanics, such as raffle entry or first-come release, had not been confirmed as of the official announcement, though more details are expected to surface as the release date approaches.

why

Kith and New Balance’s connective history is one of the longest and most prolific in shoe collision culture, spanning close to a hundred releases since 2011. Almost all of that work has involved Fieg applying his design sensibility to existing New Balance shapes: the 990, 998, 1500, and similar archive runners, often in collaboration with additional partners like the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation or United Arrows & Sons. An entirely new silhouette is a different kind of milestone. It signals that New Balance considers Fieg enough of a design partner to hand him a blank canvas rather than an existing last, something the brand has done sparingly across its collision roster.

It also fits into a broader pattern for Kith this year. The brand recently developed two original silhouettes with On Running, the K-Tech 1 and K-Tech 2, suggesting Fieg’s team is increasingly interested in building new shapes rather than only reworking established ones.

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Expect more colorway reveals, pricing confirmation, and apparel details to land in the days leading up to June 26. Given the scale of the anniversary tied to this release, a full Kith collection, including co-branded clothing and accessories, is expected to accompany the footwear drop rather than arrive as a standalone sneaker release. Anyone hoping to grab a pair should keep an eye on Kith’s website and app, along with West Hollywood store updates, as the most reliable sources for confirmed details closer to launch.