Stone Island and New Balance refine the ABZORB 1890 in Deep Forest

Stone Island’s latest New Balance shoe is built for readers who want their flex under the radar. The ABZORB 1890 arrives in Deep Forest with a technical, almost hushed presence, taking New Balance’s chunky lifestyle silhouette and sharpening it with Stone Island’s material obsession, restrained branding, and a price tag of $250.

The collaboration sits inside the SUMMER_'026 capsule, which Stone Island and New Balance launched on June 4 with a football-minded lens that pulls from 1990s soccer culture. Rather than chase the loudest version of the dad shoe, the two brands leaned into heritage references and a modern design language, the kind that reads as expensive before it reads as trendy. That is the point: the sneaker looks engineered, not embellished.

Stone Island’s product details make the construction story clear. The ABZORB 1890 uses the original 2002 sole unit, a move that gives the shoe a familiar New Balance undercarriage while keeping the upper pointed at the present. Micro ripstop mesh, no-sew synthetic overlays, and a high-frequency welded reflective teardrop at the toe give the pair its texture and its sheen without tipping into spectacle. The Compass and New Balance branding is there, but it stays disciplined, which makes the shoe feel more like a considered object than a logo exercise.

New Balance first introduced the ABZORB 1890 on February 18 and set its release for February 19, positioning it as a new lifestyle model rooted in archival New Balance design but framed by visible tech and a distinct new language. Stone Island then offered its version in two colorways, with the Deep Forest pair landing as the quieter, more fashion-forward choice. On Stone Island’s U.S. product page, the shoe was priced at $250.00, while New Balance’s ABZORB collection page listed it at $249.99, a minor split that still keeps the collaboration firmly in premium territory without drifting into trophy pricing.

The campaign added more of the same measured energy. Hypebeast reported that Endrick and Bukayo Saka fronted the imagery, photographed by Bolade Banjo, which sharpened the shoe’s football references without turning it into costume. Access was deliberately controlled too: Stone Island required account registration on its site, and the collaboration was also sold through selected Stone Island stores. In a market crowded with oversized co-signs, this ABZORB 1890 succeeds by making detail, texture, and restraint feel like status.