#Flimby35: New Balance Celebrates Their Most Passionate and Dedicated Collectors

The NEW BALANCE #FLIMBY35 celebrations saw the brand invite six of its most passionate collectors to the infamous Flimby factory to collect their own 1-of-1 dream pair of NBs.

2017 marks the 35th anniversary of Flimby’s factory, where New Balance produces its ‘Made in England’ labelled footwear. Highly regarded for its output, the team at Flimby pride themselves on premier levels of craftsmanship and producing quality footwear. As a result, the shoes made there represent the best footwear on the market, with a dedicated group of collectors from around the world. To honour these afficionados, New Balance have centred a marketing campaign and experience around people who genuinely love the brand. “The whole [collector] community is something that we’re aware of. They’re a group we want to please, and we know they have really high standards,” says New Balance’s Creative Design Manager for Europe, Mark Godfrey. “We want to fulfill their desires in the product, and we make sure it appeals to them.“

The six people who were invited to design their own special shoes were given the opportunity to select from the brand’s 991, 1500, and 576 models and make them with the materials and custom text and details of their choice. “A couple of weeks ago the guys sent us their initial designs. We looked at them and thought, ‘Yeah, these will work really well.’ The fun part was taking them to the factory to find the materials that suited their designs,” says Godfrey, who helped guide the collectors in creating their sneakers. “It was fun to be on hand and steer them in the right direction. But these guys know what they like, and it was quite easy to make their fantasy shoes happen.“

Read the full feature, including interviews with each of the collectors, at COMPLEX SNEAKERS via the banner below. Keep checking back for the full details on the forthcoming NEW BALANCE FLIMBY 35TH ANNIVERSARY PACK, releasing in August.