New Balance 991v2 Made in UK: a new season of Flimby colours

New Balance has been making shoes in England since 1982, when it opened its first UK facility to serve the European market, and since the early 1990s its Made in UK line has come out of a factory in Flimby, a small village on the Cumbrian coast. The range has its own canon, as the 576 arrived in 1988 as the more refined, English-made take on the classic suede runner and the 1500 followed in 1989. Both are still reissued today as reference points for what the label stands for.

The 991 joined that lineage in 2001 as the first 99X model of the new century. It was the first New Balance shoe with ABZORB in both the forefoot and the heel, wrapped in a sleeker mesh and suede upper than the 990v2 before it, and it quickly built a following in the UK and Japan. Italy adopted it too, as creatives in Milan, Florence and Bologna matched its pigskin suede with their tailoring, to the point where New Balance counts it among the most worn shoes at Pitti Uomo and chef Massimo Bottura owns more than a hundred pairs of the brand. The 991 marked its 20th anniversary in 2021, and collaborations with Stone Island and JJJJound have kept it at the centre of the conversation.

In October 2023 the 991v2 took over, previewed in Milan on 13 October and released worldwide on the 27th as the first 99X model designed and produced entirely in the UK. Sam Pearce, creative design manager for Made in UK, summed up the brief as "evolution not revolution". The upper is pared back while keeping the original's bulk, full-length FuelCell cushioning sits in the midsole, the tongue reads "Made in England" and a small "v2" marks the heel.

This season's refresh takes that shape in two directions. The Elevated Essentials pairs, in Black and Dove, use premium pigskin suede with Smoked Pearl details and reflective silver hits, a quiet grey and a deep black that wear like a good overcoat. The Vintage Sports pack goes the other way, setting Bluesteel and Karanda Red suede over darker, archive-style mesh, with an off-white midsole and a yellowed heel clip that make each pair look as if it had spent twenty years in a stockroom. Insignia Blue and Rose Taupe complete the range with a classic navy and a warm grey that leans towards powder pink.

For us, the 991v2 remains the clearest expression of what Flimby does best, a running shoe made with the patience of a tailor and updated slowly enough that each season feels like a continuation rather than a reset. The New Balance 991v2 Made in UK in Dove, Black, Bluesteel and Karanda Red is available now on noirfonce.eu, and if you want more New Balance from our side, revisit the first part of our New Balance 1890 on film project.