Check Out the First Ever Alpha Industries x New Balance Collaboration

Oct 14, 2021 1:00 pm

new balance alpha industries — Photo Credit: Image Courtesy of Alpha Industries

Like many storied American brands, Alpha Industries has transitioned from purely functional to highly fashionable. Alpha Industries was known for making jackets for the military, but their stylish M-65 and M-A1 jackets got picked up by the broader menswear and womenswear world in the last decade. Of course, the brand has capitalized on this, racking up a variety of collaborations with everyone from Playboy and NASA to Patta and Vetements.

Another brand that has enjoyed such a transformation is New Balance. The 115-year old New England company was generally seen as the purview of comfort-seeking dads. It took a while, but the fashion world recognized that yes, dad did know best. New Balance is now one of the hottest sneaker brands, rivaling giants like Nike and Adidas (at least in hype, if not in sales).

That’s why there’s something intuitive and almost overdue about the New Balance x Alpha Industries collaboration. While some collabs feel like a mish-mash of unrelated companies, it makes perfect sense for two iconic American brands known for functional apparel to link up.

The New Balance x Alpha Industries collaboration is a limited, focused run; all of the pieces come in one solid shade of drab olive green. There’s an anorak, a t-shirt, a hoodie, a hat and a single style of track pants. Unsurprisingly, the collection is built around the sneakers; Alpha Industries reworked the 574, adding green suede overlays on the gray mesh sneakers. Details on the shoes include Alpha Industries’ distinctive “Remove Before Flight” tag, plus an orange-colored insole that riffs on the liner color of Alpha’s iconic MA-1 bomber jacket.

Alpha Industries didn’t do much to the 574, but they didn’t really need to — the sneakers have already sold out. Fortunately, you can still pick up the clothing from the collection. All of the items feature the New Balance and Alpha Industries logos, while the sweatshirt and t-shirt feature detachable reflective badges. The jacket and pants are made from sturdy nylon, and they feature contrasting panels on the shoulder and knees, respectively.

If you’re particularly bold, you could wear all of the matching pieces together to create a cohesive ensemble. But the solid olive color and minimalist military-inspired design of the pieces make them easy to work into any wardrobe. As of this writing, the clothes are still in stock in a full run of sizes, whereas the shoes will need to be picked up from a reseller like StockX.

Check out the pieces from the collection below, but don’t dawdle. We don’t foresee any of these pieces staying in stock very long.