Kawhi Leonard isn’t associated with bright colors and cartoony imagery, as the Clippers superstar forward is best known for his stoic nature. Up to this point, New Balance has steered into that demeanor with its sneakers and apparel designed for his collection with the brand, such as their “Fun Guy.” campaign, with black and white shirts in Times New Roman font.
Most of his sneakers have likewise featured pretty straightforward colorways, but the next Kawhi collection from New Balance is going to be much more bold and colorful than anything we’ve seen from him. Leonard debuted the first of two Jolly Rancher colorways in Game 6 of the Clippers second round series with Denver, showing off a bit more of his personality. Jolly Ranchers are Kawhi’s longtime favorite candy, and as such New Balance partnered with the fruit candy to come up with something a bit more bold, but still very much Kawhi.
In late October (a firm release date is still TBD), New Balance will release a Jolly Rancher x Kawhi Leonard collection, featuring two colorways of Leonard’s KAWHI signature sneaker — the white and multi-color one he wore on Sunday and a blue raspberry colorway — along with slides and two pairs of lifestyle sneakers (the 327 and 480 Low).
The pops of bright colors are certainly a bit different for the Kawhi line, but I really like how New Balance still finds a balance between something bright and still being true to Kawhi’s personality. The Kawhi Leonard logo on the tongue of the sneakers features his name written in Jolly Rancher font with a collection of fruit cartoons, but they all feature a non-expressive look — a signature of Leonard.
It’s a cool collab and I’m particularly fond of the blue raspberry colorway. The KAWHI sneakers will run $160, with the slides going for $35.
