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by Brendan Dunne
The New Balance 1300JP is a heralded sneaker in the brand's Made in USA range. The model was first dedicated to recreating the original, 1985 1300 that dropped jaws on accounts of its comfortable ride and its shocking price (the shoe debuted in 1985 with a then unheard-of $130 MSRP).
From there the sneaker earned cult status in Japan, which lead to an eventual retro in 1995. Since then, it's been back once every five years. Tetsuya Shono, a Senior Lifestyle Category manager based at New Balance Japan, says that the combination of high quality and high price made the shoe the stuff of lore in Japan. "The original 1300, which was released in 1985, was innovative for the time in technology, foot comfort, and price," Shono said. "Moreover, the Japanese consumer was very interested in ‘Made in USA’."
New Balance's strategic business unit manager for Lifestyle, Steve Gardner, echoed this, saying that the shoe satisfied the Japanese consumer's seeking authenticity and product that's very close to the highest level in the world.
The shoe's re-introduction every five years is very much a collaborative process, in which the Japanese team visits U.S. factories to ensure that product is up to snuff. In addition to expertise on the model's cultural importance, members of the New Balance Japan team have access to archival pairs to complement those stored domestically.
Gardner said that the most difficult things to get right for the 1300JP retros are the slippery color that's somewhere between blue and grey, the lining, and the overall shape.
"There are a lot of nuances that we really work on, even though we have the mold," Gardner said. "Working on it still goes through multiple rounds of samples."
The New Balance 1300JP will release on March 28 for $300 via New Balance online and select New Balance Experience stores.
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