New Balance

New Balance was founded in 1906 in Boston as the New Balance Arch Support Company — a small workshop making prescription arch supports and orthopedic shoes. It was a quiet medical-footwear business for half a century until Paul Kidd acquired and re-founded it in 1956, and Jim Davis bought it on April 17, 1972 (the day of the Boston Marathon), beginning the transformation into an athletic brand. Davis still owns the company outright today. The modern New Balance vocabulary settled in the 1980s with the 990 — released in 1982 as 'the most expensive running shoe in America' at $100, made in the USA, suede and mesh upper, ENCAP cushioning. The 990, 991, 992, 993, 1500, 2002, and 1906R have since become the foundational silhouettes of one of the most influential reissue cultures in sneakers. Beyond running, New Balance dominates baseball (the 4040 cleat), basketball (Kawhi Leonard's KAWHI line), and a deep women's-led streetwear vocabulary. Unusually for the industry, New Balance still produces 4 million pairs per year in five US factories — Lawrence MA, Boston, Skowhegan ME — and uses 'Made in USA' (a minimum 70% domestic content) as a real product line, not just marketing. Aimé Leon Dore's Teddy Santis was named creative director of Made in USA in 2022, signaling a continuing investment in the heritage program.