New Balance 327

The New Balance 327 is a lifestyle sneaker from North American sportswear company, New Balance. debuted April 2020 in collaboration with Charaf Tajer’s French-Moroccan brand, Casablanca.

Touted as “the ultimate leisure shoe,” the model is inspired by runners from the 1970s – namely the New Balance 320 (1976), New Balance 355 (1977), and New Balance SuperComp (1977). The silhouette's standard build consists of: pigskin suede overlays atop nylon bases, oversized lateral “N” logos and aggressive, studded rubber outsoles. Special releases of the model have used premium leather across its uppers, as well as metallic hardware.

While yet to boast the wide-availability of its New Balance 990v5 and New Balance 997 counterparts, the vintage-inspired pair has followed up its extremely-limited debut with dozens of joint and solo-efforts. European retailer size? and Japanese brand MADNESS have added their own touches to the 327. On the solo front, New Balance has added classic grey, navy and black to the retro-inspired model, but also bolder orange, yellow, blue, and even a multi-colored arrangement for Pride 2020. Given the sneaker’s momentum at the end of 2020, the Boston-based brand will surely continue delivering notable takes of the low-top option.

Despite missing ENCAP and ABZORB technology from the Steve Jobs-approved New Balance 992, the New Balance 327 has quickly garnered widespread attention and praise for its equal-parts heritage and modern design, as well as the current “dad shoe” trend. Notable proponents of the New Balance 327 include Kendall Jenner and Westside Gunn of Griselda Records.

The model retails for $100 USD, although collaborations are usually priced at or above $150 USD. Furthermore, the model has globally launched in options for both men and women (sizes for kids are yet to be seen).