Drake’s and New Balance launch made-in-UK Allerdale collab

British menswear label Drake’s has linked up with sports-casual brand New Balance for a collab that has reworked the latter’s still-new Made in UK Allerdale shoe.

The collab may be focused on a newly introduced silhouette from New Balance (it only launched earlier this year) but the company said it has “the feel of an old favourite”.

It’s made of brown leather and pigskin, with a FuelCell-equipped cup sole and Ortholite insole, Japanese nylon ripstop tongue, embroidered flying NB logo and unique D-ring lacing, complete with three pairs of paracord-inspired laces, “channelling the UK’s legacy of country pursuits and craftsmanship”. 

The idea is that it’s a “shoe fit for the fells and the city, and everything in between”.

Drake’s creative director Michael Hill said he’d wanted to work with New Balance for some time as he’s “always admired their approach to classic design, quality and their appreciation for doing things the right way. It felt like a natural fit”.

He added that the “Allerdale feels vintage, in the best way possible, we wanted to embrace that with the addition of brown leather, green suede and a jolt of orange paracord with the laces. These are colour and materials that we often incorporate into Drake’s collections”.

But it’s not just about shoes. To coincide with the launch Hill and New Balance came up with a limited edition collection that “highlights the British outdoors and a handful of Drake’s staples”. That includes an unstructured Games blazer and matching fatigue trousers in waxed herringbone cotton, a packable shirt, cagoule and utility vest in ripstop nylon, hiking shorts and button-down shirts, graphic T-shirts, knitted ties, and a tote bag that’s made up of all the fabrics used throughout the collection.

And there’s a campaign film too featuring actor and comedian Charlie Cooper as he road tests the Allerdale and the limited-edition collection in the Lake District.