Aime Leon Dore x New Balance P550 (2020)
The collaboration that resurrected the 550 from obscurity and launched a thousand GR colorways. Teddy Santis pulled this forgotten 1989 basketball shoe from New Balance's vault and gave it the ALD treatment: rich burgundy/maroon on cream leather with natural yellowed aging that feels vintage from day one. The burgundy-and-cream palette channels Ivy League libraries, old money aesthetics, and Queens, NY neighborhood basketball courts simultaneously. This is the pair that proved archival digging and community storytelling could create more hype than any celebrity endorsement.
Every print is meticulously designed to visually mimic the look, depth, and tactile feel of a real embroidered patch — simulated stitch direction, thread sheen, merrowed border, twill backing, and subtle fabric shadowing are all baked into the artwork. The result reads as a physical patch on the garment, achieved through ultra-high-resolution DTG / DTF rather than thread.
This release uses our DTG / DTF print process — chosen so the monogram artwork can render at a fidelity, color range, and detail level that traditional embroidery cannot match, while keeping the silhouette of every colorway in the ever-growing archive intact.
Physical embroidered patches — woven, with merrowed borders and heat-press backing — are reserved for select future drops in small, numbered quantities tied to specific colorways and collections. They are a separate, limited future format, not a replacement for the print line.
LS31-NB55-DD4DD3-068
2025.04.19
#068
— pending —
Each L.S.3.1ST piece will be paired with a tamper-proof NFC chip and on-chain certificate of authenticity. Provenance data above is illustrative only (placeholder edition #068).
Explore the NB 550 x ALD Burgundy patch up close — every thread, stitch, and texture detail revealed at different magnifications.
Upcoming products featuring the NB 550 x ALD Burgundy colorway. Sign up to get notified when new pieces drop.
New Balance P550 Inspired
New Balance P550 Inspired
New Balance P550 Inspired
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