New Balance’s Trendy 1906L Sneaker Loafer Gets a Tuxedo Makeover

New Balance isn’t letting up on its sneaker loafer releases.

In 2026, the Boston-based sportswear company will deliver a tuxedo-like Black/Angora colorway of the popular 1906L loafer. In what would have been an ideal piece of New Year’s footwear, the shoe features a predominantly black upper and tooling which breaks things up with a creamy white layer of mesh on the vamp. A black mesh blends into cutouts on the upper, while the shoe’s branding and Abzorb SBS cushioning pods are colored in metallic silver.

Designed by Charlotte Lee, design manager of EMEA energy and speed at New Balance, the 1906L is an updated spin on the brand’s popular 1906R sneaker, itself a rework of the 1906 model from 2009. The 1906L features the midsole of the 860v2 with a laceless slip-on. 1906 upper

Sneaker loafers have been a prevailing and — to some footwear enthusiasts — overdone trend in recent years. New Balance is widely credited for popularizing the latest incarnation of the hybrid concept, first in Junya Watanabe Man’s Paris Fashion Week fall/winter 2024 show and later that year in September at retail.

The model has since been released in numerous colorways and has led nearly every other athletic footwear brand to offer a variation of the look. More recently, the latest evolution of the footwear fusion trend includes new shoe-sneaker mash-ups from brands including Asics and New Balance.

It remains to be seen how much longer the trend will last but for now, New Balance remains committed to the concept. This 1906L Black/Angora colorway will be released during spring ’26 for a retail price of $160 from newbalance.com and select New Balance retailers. The style code is U19068G9.