Every year, New Balance turns up for its annual “Grey Days” celebration, a month-long homage to the NB signature colour.
‘Grey Days’ makes me think of London, growing up in a city with grey architecture and grey surroundings.”
For New Balance, grey is more than just a colour. Grey entered the New Balance world in the ‘80s, as a practical option for city runners.
NB went for something that blended with the concrete landscapes and repped its urban running communities.
While other brands took on neons and whites, NB went for something that blended with the concrete landscapes and repped its urban running communities in its hometown Boston, MA and beyond. Since its inception, the fifty shades of grey on the NB palette has become a defining expression of brand identity.
To celebrate “Grey Days”, we linked up with documentary photographer Sam Davies to chat about what grey means to him. “‘Grey Days’ makes me think of London,” says Davies, “growing up in a city with grey architecture and grey surroundings.” He also adds that “London’s identity is grey” making it a blank canvas for “any creative that wants to grow here”. It’s not just a colour, it’s a foundation.
Davies brings the colour grey into his work: “I shoot black and white a lot, grey tones play a massive role in my work – it’s where the emotion lies and you can see the deepness of the image.”
London’s identity is grey… it’s a blank canvas for any creative that wants to grow here.
Price TBC
Alongside our chat with Sam Davies, New Balance has brought together a range of NB athletes and ambassadors – including the likes of Aminé and LA Clippers’ Darius Garland – to feature in this year’s “Grey Days” campaign, raising the NB grey flag and paying tribute to the brand’s rich heritage.
