Matt Kyte Set Out to Illustrate Every Colorway of the New Balance 1500

The artist dishes on the daunting task.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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What began as a personal project years back has since turned into a complete exploration into the archives of the 1500 model from New Balance. Matt Kyte of Australia set out to illustrate every colorway of the sneaker that has ever been released.

Those NBs recently had the opportunity to sit down with Matt, hear a bit of his story, and also check out some illustrations.

"When I started on this project years back the 1500 was the crown jewel of the retro New Balance catalogue. Since then things have changed but I still think that the shoe itself when presented in a good colourway with the correct aggressive shape is one of the greatest shoes created."

Having of course been a fan and studied the 1500 for some time now, it's only fair to assume that Kyte has grown to appreciate certain schemes more than others. And being an artist in his own right, Those NBs was curious to know what his ideal colorway of the 1500 is/would be.

"On the 1500, probably the original grey/navy or (because it’s rarer) the OG charcoal version. I was pretty excited when NB re-issued the charcoal ones a few years ago but the shape has gone pretty wack on the 1500 so I didn’t even bother ruining my recollection of that shoe."

Taking on a task as daunting as illustrating every colorway of a given sneaker can no doubt prove to be unwaveringly exhasuting, but Matt just may have something else up his sleeve for the future. He urges that to the extent of his illustrations on the 1500, that probably won't happen again, but some personal work has already been done, and there may be more to come in the future.

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