Crooked Tongues x New Balance ‘Confederation Of Villainy’ Group Shot

After Crooked set a standard for New Balance collaborations in 2004, with four limited edition 576s, after the hiatus that followed the Solebox collaborating 1500 in early ‘05, the sneaker landscape has changed and it takes a little more to stand out in a sea of overcooked, loveless gangbangs between brands. Crooked’s relationship with New Balance’s Flimby HQ has been tight and Winter 2006 seemed the right time to drop more gems.

Image\Info: crookedtongues

Rather than clambering for a concept that hasn’t already been done to death, they wanted to make quality and attention to detail the focal point. Between four models – collaborative favourites, the 1500, 577 and 575, plus debuting with its very own custom sole unit for this special edition, the 991, these UK made shoes have been overseen so that every stitch, leather, fabric and stealthy dose of 3M is as requested. Each model is linked by use of an eyecatching highlight colour – red, yellow, blue and green, a white metal top eyelet and a custom tongue label.

Of course, with the original Crooked Tongues /New Balance pieces setting precedents, there was a need to take the project even further to ensure sleepless nights for anyone following this drop. Call it self-indulgence, but for all at Crooked Tongues, this was designed with them in mind, under the faintly arrogant notion that they’re on the same wavelength as the discerning heads, disillusioned by weak drops that cause a momentary palpitation, but ultimately lead down the slippery slope to buyers remorse. Generic packaging has led to a wall of faceless browns, reds and blues and special packaging can cement classic status on the spot.

Operating under the team name of ‘Confederation Of Villainy’ the box art takes it back to a time when villains were occasionally charming, often brutal, but memorable in their wrongdoing. Reflecting the nationality of the crew member in charge of the makeup – the 575 is represented by the gentleman robber of the Old West, Black Bart, the 577 by Chinese bandit Black Sword, the 1500 by scourge of the seas Blackbeard and the 991 by the feared highwayman Black Tom. Custom box artwork by tattoo artist and graphic designer BJ Betts, as well as premium stock makes this the logical conclusion of a Crooked Tongues quest for some of the nicest sneaker packaging to date to cap this intelligent collaboration. Limited to 99 pairs of each model, the ‘Confederation Of Villainy’ rides into town in December 2006, only from the Crooked Tongues store.

In response to several queries, the shoes are available in the following US sizes (just remember that according to the labels, New Balance US sizes are half a size, rather than a whole size bigger than UK sizes. For example, a US 9 1/2 is a UK 9) – 8, 9, 10, 10 1/2, 11, 11 1/2 and 12.