Skate Sneakers Are Catching Air Again

For his New York skateboarding label’s first collaboration with New Balance Numeric — the skate division of the US footwear brand — Grand Collection founder Ben Oleynik wanted to make sneakers that both skateboarders and fashion customers would buy.

So Oleynik dressed up the 1980s-era New Balance 770 that Numeric had retooled for skateboarding with premium leather to create something that could be worn with his label’s $800 Italian cashmere zip-ups as easily as it could be skated in….