Start your engines — Casablanca and New Balance are at it again. Following the global success of their 327 model, the brands’ first collaboration, the relationship is continuing with the release of the highly anticipated XC-72 model.
Casablanca offered a glimpse of the new style in its fall 2021 collection film “Grand Prix,” displaying the radical new design direction of the XC-72, with colorways inspired by the rows of exotic cars seen on Monaco’s winding roads.
“From when we first started working on the collaboration, we dubbed it the ‘sports car for your feet’ as it evokes that feeling of when you first saw a luxury car as a child, you knew it was a car, but it was different from any car you’d seen before. It’s a feeling, a sense of wonder, designed to perform, designed to be special,” said Charaf Tajer and Steve Grimes, Casablanca’s creative director and art director, respectively.
The XC-72’s sleek body shape sits on top of a unique split sole unit and with three separate outsole tread patterns, inspired by heritage New Balance models with a connection to luxury sports cars.
The shoe is offered in two colorways: orange and green combined with tonal white and gray accents is a direct reference to Casablanca’s signature initial sneaker launch, while the second style combines red and yellow contrasted against white and black accents, reminiscent of racing tires. The limited-edition collaboration will launch on Casablanca and New Balance’s websites, respectively, and select retailers globally. CasablancaParis.com will have the exclusive launch on Aug. 27, all partnering retailers will go on sale on Aug. 28.
