Our friends up the road in Leeds have collaborated with New Balance Numeric.
The shoe may be a Welcome skate store collab but we've managed to get hold of some to sell in our store as a sign of support for our fellow skater owned store but also the shoe is banging and also one of our favourite from New Balance.
Please read the release below for the 411 on the idea behind the shoe...
We(lcome) are stoked to introduce our first footwear collaboration - based on the little known story of Louis Le Prince.
In 1866 Louis Le Prince moved from his home town of Metz in France to Leeds where he began experimenting in cinematography, in 1888 he patented a single lens camera with which he filmed people crossing Leeds Bridge, creating the world's first moving images. Unfortunately he was never able to demonstrate his creation to the wider world as he mysteriously disappeared from a train he was travelling on whilst visiting family in Dijon before a planned trip to New York, where he was due to premiere his invention. You can read more about Louis Le Prince pon the web!
As you know, the moving image has been and continues to be vital to the evolution of both the act of skateboarding and the development of skateboard culture, so we felt this was a story worth telling, in no small part because the same Bridge where these first ever images were taken still stands today just a short walk from Welcome.
We chose the 440 because it’s the shoe a lot of us skate in. The leather and nubuck for the upper are coloured after the York Stone flags on the Bridge, the blues are taken from the metal work and there are small nods to other design elements of the bridge, along with the French flag taping in honour of Louis Le Prince.
We hope you like it!
Cheers,
Sam + Tom (Welcome skate stores owners)
Your very welcome to purchase these shoes now but please note we will be posting the shoe from Monday 12th June.
Love slugs
x