Jack Harlow and New Balance Cater to the Soccer Trend With New Sneaker

With soccer already locked in as one of summer’s hottest shoe trends, Jack Harlow is helping to ensure New Balance doesn’t remain on the touchline.

The Jack Harlow x New Balance 442 transforms the soccer cleat (or football boot) of the same name into an indoor soccer shoe with broader wearability. Harlow revealed the sneaker on his Instagram on Thursday in a carousel including a shot of him playing for his high school soccer team.

Atherton High School’s colors are then used for the white sneaker’s maroon and gold accents, and the number 80 on the inner tongue appears to be an homage to Ronaldinho. The legendary Brazilian wore number 80 for his three years at AC Milan, and Harlow has shown himself wearing the same number even earlier in his own playing days. There’s also a map on the insole displaying an area of his hometown of Louisville, Ky.

The silhouette itself retains much of the same DNA of the cleat, including the wavy textured toe and sizable “N” logo at midfoot. A new ribbed texture is added around the collar, and the new sole unit appears to be of the cup variety with a prototypical gum outsole.

Adidas has been the chief progenitor of the soccer shoe trend, following up on the years-long success of the Samba and Gazelle with more recent revivals of models including the Predator Mania and Koresco Megaride, as well as the Predator Megaride, which remixes the aughts-era boot with Megaride cushioning from the same time period. A couple different iterations of its F50 have also leaked, including one that remains a cleat and includes a removable shell to allow for wear off the pitch, catering to the #BootsOnlySummer TikTok movement.

Nike has also gotten involved with the reconfiguration of the Total 90 3 soccer boot which now sits alongside the Gato, an indoor soccer shoe turned skate model. Puma then has its Avanti and King models, the latter of which was once worn by Pelé.

Release information is still to come on the Jack Harlow x New Balance 442, but more details should come soon, given the prominence of the soccer trend this summer. Footwear News will keep you abreast of any updates.