There’s nobody really moving through football quite like New Balance right now.
The boots are getting sharper, the kits are getting better, and the collaborations are hitting harder than ever. And sitting right at the centre of that universe? Stone Island.
Their first installment of Summer 2026 – which was unveiled last week with a lookbook starring Buyako Saka and Endrick – was impressive enough on its own, with a Nylon Prismatico-TC hooded jacket delivering that classic SI fabric wizardry and a liquid-looking, three-dimensional finish inspired by Mussola Prismatica.
But now, Stone Island and New Balance are back for round two – and this time they’ve turned their focus to the pitch.
Again, the whole thing pulls from 90s football culture, but in a way that feels more “archive re-engineered” than retro cosplay.
First up is the Furon Elite FG v9, New Balance’s speed boot, which comes with a one-piece mesh upper, a lightweight outsole and heat-reactive artwork that changes with temperature. Very Stone Island, and very unnecessary in the best way.
Then there’s the Tekela Elite Low FG v5, which is built more around touch and control, with grip detailing, anatomical shaping and a chrome-like heel finish that gives it a proper piece-of-equipment feel.
A full football kit in engineered jacquard rounds out the collection, complete with bespoke artwork that mixes the Stone Island Compass, New Balance branding and a two-stripe motif.
At a time when every brand wants a piece of football, Stone Island and New Balance with its Summer 2026 collaboration continue to make it feel like something more considered.
This isn’t just a badge swap or a colourway exercise, it’s performance kit filtered through one of the most obsessive material minds in sportswear, and sportswear given the full football treatment by a brand that actually knows the pitch.
