Joe Freshgoods Shares Sprawling New Balance Sneaker Archive Featuring Unreleased Samples and More
As Chicago-based designer Joe Freshgoods prepares to release his “Aged Well” New Balance 992 collaboration, he’s also taking a moment to reflect on five years of accomplishments with the Boston-based athletic footwear brand.
Taking to his social media accounts, Joe Freshgoods shared images of himself posing in the center of all of his New Balance sneaker collaborations — and we mean all of them. The images feature four circles of Joe Freshgoods x New Balance collabs ranging from his first “No Emotions Are Emotions” 992 in 2020 to the upcoming “Aged Well” 992.
“Was only supposed to be a one-shoe deal back in 2020… welp, that aged well,” the designer captioned the photos. “Always thought I had to rap or hoop to take a pic like this lol. This one’s for all the underdogs.”
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While it’s tough to discern the exact number of pairs pictured, there are dozens of both released and unreleased Joe Freshgoods x New Balance sneakers in the images including samples with minor variations, one-offs and more.
One pair in particular that has caught the attention of footwear fans is a green-and-tan New Balance 992 pictured near the center of the second row. Other styles of note include unreleased versions of the New Balance 1000 and New Balance 2002R models. There’s even a version of the upcoming “Aged Well” 992 with a black-accented midsole instead of the pink look that is set to be released.
In recent years, similar circular sneaker spread images have been a popular way for designers and brands to display their sprawling collections and archives. The trend picked up steam in 2019 after a Forbes profile on Kanye West included an image, shot by Jamel Toppin, of the embattled artist’s mind-boggling array of Adidas Yeezy sneakers.
And in 2024, Under Armour’s Curry Brand unveiled De’Aaron Fox’s debut Fox 1 sneaker with a video of the NBA star surrounded by various forms of footwear including work boots, cowboy boots and dress shoes.
But West wasn’t the first celebrity to show off a sneaker circle. In 2015, Adidas collaborator Pharrell Williams posed in the center of his 50-sneaker Superstar “Supercolor” collection. A decade later, Williams appeared to reference the original image by sitting alongside a new 50-shoe Louis Vuitton sneaker collection. And days after, designer KidSuper mimicked Williams’ photo with his own shoe spread.
The Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 992 “Aged Well” is set to be released on Feb. 20. Further details are expected in the coming weeks.
