New Tennis Embraces the Tennis Lifestyle with the T500 Shoe Collaboration with Ganni

After a hiatus of almost six years, New Balance once again has a tennis racket in its lifestyle collection. And the T500 took the top spot, starting with the collaboration with Aime Leon Dore, offering the original styles and now introducing the Ganni collaboration.

Since tennis represents a growing part of modern style trends and has an important place in New Balance’s performance culture, the brand expects the T500 to highlight those elements in its lifestyle line for a long time to come.

“This is the style that our ambition is to create the next New Balance brand,” Lauren Fitzsimmons, New Balance’s global marketing director, tells me. “We have a smart, strategic approach. Setting the standards is very important and will lead to long term success. ”

The fact that New Balance connects the T500 with a lifestyle sneaker is not only in its history in tennis, but in the silhouette itself. An iconic image of the 1982 tennis shoe, Brian Lynn, New Balance’s global vice president of lifestyle, tells me the design is timeless and wearable. “It was born in 1982, but it still has the elegance and edginess that we’re known for,” he says. going back and forth [the comfort] well. For us it was important to get close to the original, but also improve it for simplicity. ”

Lynn says she found a vintage 1980s pair on Ebay in her size. He liked the look and the materials, but knew the brand had to update the quality after testing it. “Even though it’s a simple shoe, we were trying to get that shape and all the little details that we had from back then right,” he says. something looks simple.”

Dialing in feedback came along with asking for the original original equipment. That’s why the T500 complements the suede and leather, giving New Balance what Fitzsimmons calls “the best and most valued court shoe” and opening up the opportunity to highlight different materials and prints. classic design in different colors and types. “As a brand, we do that stuff better than anyone else,” says Lynn. We see ourselves as the world’s most elite sports brand. In every situation, we want to make sure that it can be as good as possible. ”

Returning to tennis with the T500 was part of a response to trends, acknowledging the brand’s current growth and desire for a low-profile court-style silhouette. A T500 is equivalent to a loan.

Lynn says the success of the New Balance 550, a remake of the basketball shoe, was one of the first lifestyle court offerings from a brand known for performance and lifestyle. of running. Once the 550 left, that opened the door for more offerings in court life. He says: “The T500 has a timeless appeal to it, it’s almost a classic New Balance but done in a cup. For us it was fun to have that heritage, but this shoe is timeless, it’s well made, has premium materials. It’s not meant to be a hype shoe, just looks good with any outfit.”

And with a strong resemblance to retro basketball styles, the T500 offers a fresh perspective. “Given the location and the market right now and what the customer is attracted to, it made sense to go into our tennis ball inventory,” says Fitzsimmons.

As the sport of tennis continues to grow—New Balance announced a second signature shoe for American star Coco Gauff in August, adding to the mix of popular court styles from the Boston line—with a selection of living in the game. exactly who we are as a brand,” Lynn says. “We’re making sure we have a lifestyle component to compliment what we do in the workplace.”

Fitzsimmons says tennis has “something about the moment,” both on the court and in fashion off the court. “It’s important to have a clear vision of what our tennis offering is,” he says. “Having a shoe like the T500 sitting next to a signature performance product makes sense, giving the customer another method. Tennis is not just a sport, but a lifestyle. ”

New Balance launched the T500 in late 2023 with the collaboration of Aime Leon Dore and then created the “Quiet Please” campaign related to the comfort level and original shoe materials of 2024. Next comes the collaboration with Ganni, starting Sept. 20, all before the future skin type and additional colors and cosmetics.

“It was important that we get a different lens on it,” Fitzsimmons says of the Ganni collaboration. “Obviously we have our own ideas, but bringing Ganni on board and adding their vision for how the T500 can come to market is another exciting change.”

Ditte Reffstrup, Ganni’s creative director, tells me that it was no coincidence that Ganni chose the T500 when it came time to work with New Balance, but it’s not just tennis, it’s a “perpetual appeal and flexibility of shape” can be done in a different way of feeling, adding that the weak roots allow it to be compatible with everyday clothes. Giving it a Ganni twist also allows the shoe to act as a statement piece to match the look of the dress. Whether you pair it with a comfortable sports ensemble or use it to add contrast to a more tailored look, the T500 offers style freedom,” Reffstrup says. “It’s all about expressing personality, it which is central to both our products.”

The release of the Ganni x New Balance T500 will give the sneaker bold leopard prints and “unexpected twists that bring new energy to the silhouette,” he says, while focusing on high-quality materials.

“The simplicity of the T500 allows for creative exploration, and its unique profile makes it a figure that fits the past and the future,” says Reffstrup. “I really think this silhouette and shoe has the timeless appeal of a true evergreen.”

Working with collaboration partners is a process that helps New Balance to give products a new look, while bringing a different audience to the brand, exposing consumers to a new silhouette.

A gap of almost six years without a tennis lifestyle model – the last silhouette, the New Balance Court 300, was not a true archive model but a combination of the designs of heritage – meant, Lynn says, when it came time to bring tennis back. , they knew they had to love the shoe. He says: “If we’re going to do this again, let’s do it properly and properly.”

That means the T500 will remain a hot topic for the next few years. As the lifestyle offerings continue to grow in 2025 and 2026, New Balance will have some court-inspired designs even if there won’t be any classic soccer pieces to come. back, which allows the T500 to hold the top position for New Balance and tennis life. sneakers.