New Balance 204L
The New Balance 204L. Image: New Balance

NEW BALANCE SEEMS DETERMINED to kick us into a new pair of their very comfortable kicks every month, with August in particular being a busy season for new colourways and combos.

From the linen-toned 327s to the technicolour bursts on the Fresh Foam and FuelCell series, the brand proved again why it’s the most consistently trending brand of sneakers today.

Our rundown of the August colourways read like a mood board for modern versatility: neutrals offset with urgent reds, heritage silhouettes tweaked with future-proof materials. Add to that our list of the best New Balance shoes in 2025 – from the cultish 550 to the chunky 9060 – and it’s clear that the label has not only infiltrated every strata of style but also dictated it.

Now comes September, and the date worth circling in your calendar is Sunday, September 1 at 10:00 am AEST. New Balance introduces two fresh colourways of the 204L, a lifestyle model that has already been earmarked by fans as the sleeper hit of the season. Where the August drop leaned on tone and texture, the new release pushes metallics and mesh to the fore, re-engineering the retro aesthetic into something sharper, sleeker and more deliberate.

The 204L is a study in convergence: ‘70s running shoes colliding with 2000s tech style, stitched together in a silhouette that feels both familiar and entirely new. A slim, low-profile frame anchors the design, but layered textures – embossed overlays, screen-printed graphics, double-stacked suede ‘N’ logos – elevate it from nostalgia into next-gen territory. The outsole alone tells the story: a strike path that nods to Y2K performance, underscored by tread patterns pulled straight from the decade of jogging tracks and nylon shorts.

In their official press release, Pierome Sar, Senior Designer at New Balance, says “When designing the 204L, we knew we wanted to offer a versatile, sleek sneaker while producing something new and fresh.

“The shoe is designed to stand out from other New Balance models with this convergence of two different eras.”

You may recall that the most recent mania that surrounded the 240L was courtesy of Spanish musician Rosalía – Grammy winner, fashion muse and now brand ambassadors. She was the first to debut the 204L globally, styling it with the kind of high-low edge that makes it as relevant on a runway as it is on a dance floor.

So set your alarms for September 1 at 10 am.

Related:

All the New Balance colourways and new releases coming in August

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