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Overwhelming Rarity: The Reason Why the New Balance "1300JP" Is Reissued Only Once Every 5 Years
The renowned Ralph Lauren once praised the New Balance "1300" saying it "felt like walking on clouds." Crafted with the brand’s finest craftsmanship and tradition, this iconic model has been revived as the "1300JP" every five years since 2010. And today, May 29th, marks the highly anticipated reissue of the "1300JP" This time, we spoke with Shigeyuki Kunii from mita sneakers, who has built a close relationship with New Balance, to learn about the allure of the "1300JP" and the reason behind its five-year release cycle.
Japanese Project "1300JP" Began in 2010
Nicknamed "the Rolls-Royce of sneakers" and with stories of huge praise from Ralph Lauren, the New Balance "1300" continues to earn timeless popularity through its unmatched comfort and sophisticated design.As a Japan-exclusive project, the "1300JP" precisely recreates the original specs and has been released every five years since 2010, now considered a legendary SKU among sneaker fans. Today on May 29th, the fourth edition debuts to commemorate "GRAY DAY," honoring the brand’s legacy. When asked about the history of the "1300," Kunii replied as follows.
"The '1300' is a model with quite a few stories, ones many of you are probably already familiar with. Originally, there were models labeled '1300CL' and '1300J' At the time, these were distributed via a very limited sales network: the brand’s directly managed stores, 'mita sneakers,' and 'Oshman’s' only.
"After various twists and turns, it was decided to stop selling the '1300CL,' which increased the rarity of the '1300J' So, consumers saw the '1300CL' as the standard version, while the '1300J' was recognized as a special release. Since then, a five-year release cycle for the '1300J' started in 2010, leading to its legendary status as the '1300JP'"
The "Vibram®" Sole Logo Isn’t Yellow!?
The "1300JP" is gaining attention for faithfully recreating details from the original release, and this commitment to authenticity shines through once again. Kunii elaborated further:"For the upper section, just like the previous '1300JP3,' this edition features plenty of the very best nubuck leather sourced from the historic Horween Leather tannery in America.
"The side 'N' logo is another distinctive element. On the original 1985 release, artisans hand-sewed the logo, resulting in stitching that wasn’t perfectly straight and was sometimes placed too close to the edge. In contrast, modern automated factories are fully capable of producing flawlessly straight stitching lines.
"Of course, neat stitching is a good thing, but if it’s too perfect, it doesn’t feel like an authentic reissue. That’s why even the tiniest details, like the rounded lines of the stitching, are carefully recreated. The use of a Vibram® rubber sole with excellent grip and abrasion resistance, also utilized for boots, is unchanged from the original."
Here, Kunii shared an interesting story about the "Vibram®" sole.
"Normally, when a shoe has a Vibram® outsole, the Vibram® logo is supposed to be yellow. However, on the '1300JP,' the Vibram® logo on the sole has always matched the shoe’s color and is black.
"This has been made possible because the headquarters of 'New Balance' and the headquarters of 'Vibram' have maintained a great relationship for many years, allowing them to use the black logo instead of yellow.
Unique Value Stemming from Limited Production
At this point, a question arises: Why is the "1300JP" only released once every five years? While it certainly adds to the special feel of the model, Kunii also had this to say:"With the '1300JP', it's all about painstakingly repeating trial and error to get as close as possible to the 1985 original when bringing the product to market, so it naturally takes a lot of time.
"Even just the 'N' logo on the side that I explained earlier requires the craftsmanship of people who know the techniques from that era in order to faithfully recreate the original flavor. That knowledge and skill also needs to be passed on to new generations.
"This kind of attention to detail is what defines the '1300JP' model. That's why mass production isn't possible, and it only gets brought back at regular intervals."
While it's still a ways off, with this established pattern, everyone is probably expecting the "1300JP" to be revived again in another five years. How does Kunii see this trend?
"Over the past five years, I feel that the image of 'New Balance' has dramatically shifted. The revival of archive models has firmly established their popularity among the Y2K generation, and I think we now see 'New Balance' featured much more often in the sports world, whether it's MLB in America or European soccer.
"Given all that, I'm very interested to see how the flagship and original '1300' model of the brand will be viewed and evaluated by the Y2K generation."
It will certainly be exciting to see how the younger generations incorporate them into their styles, but there's no doubt: the allure of the "1300JP" will never fade. There's real anticipation for the "1300JP" to establish a new legend going forward.
PROFILE
Shigeyuki Kunii
mita sneakers Creative Director
Serving as the Creative Director at Mita Sneakers, a world-renowned sneaker store based in Ueno, Tokyo's traditional downtown, Kunii is behind numerous collaborative and exclusive models with various brands—especially excelling with "New Balance" collaborations and exclusives. He also acts as external director at the new Herringbone Footwear shop located in Toranomon Hills. From global projects to direction on domestic in-line products, his involvement in sneaker projects is diverse, marking him as one of the most pivotal figures in the sneakers industry.
mita sneakers
4-7-8 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo Ame-Yoko Center Building 1F
TEL: 03-3832-8346
Opening Hours: (Weekdays) 11:00–19:30, (Sat/Sun & Holidays) 10:00–19:30
https://www.mita-sneakers.co.jp/
Photo by Hiroyuki "Lily" Suzuki (StudioLog)
Text by Yasuyuki Ushijima (NO-TECH)
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