Matt Varga New Balance has proven they don’t necessarily need outside help to make a splash with “fashion types,” but their ironclad partnership with AURALEE certainly doesn’t hurt. The two have utilized the Tokyo imprint’s Paris shows for previews of their upcoming collaborative output for seasons on end, so right on time, the SS26 cadence brings us a look at the AURALEE New Balance 204L.
The most immediately impactful of the trio is a softened grey/off-white, leaning into the buttery palettes that’ve been a hallmark of all AURALEE x New Balance efforts to date. Bucking those aesthetics are the other two-thirds of this capsule, switching to darkened two-tone formulations of rich brown and deep navy suede, broken up by cream-colored soles and collars.
Strategically, leveraging the fashion label to elevate one of their trendiest new silhouettes is a shrewd play on New Balance’s part. Easily identifiable as their answer to the “low pro” movement, an inline “Mushroom” edition and impending collaboration with Basketcase provided our first two official previews of the shoe, spinning of the curvilinear geometry of a predecessor like the 530 with a drastically grounded sole unit that bucks the “dad shoe” aesthetics the brand has championed for so long.
Again, given the far-ahead nature of any PFW events, we’ll have to wait until Spring/Summer 2026 to get our hands on the three AURALEE New Balance 204L shown here. However, while you wait, get an early sense of what to expect via the shots below.
