New Balance Has a High-SES T-Shirt That Looks Extremely Familiar

Change to PT kit, 5 minutes!

“But sir, need to wait for shipping and delivery to camp, sir…”

This is what the 21st century hypebeast SAF recruit will say because…well, read on.

Not PT Kit, But PFU

Just recently, the American sports footwear brand New Balance collaborated with Korean streetwear brand thisisneverthat to produce their military-inspired “Physical Fitness Uniform” (PFU) collection.

The designers looked to the late ’90s and early 2000s NB archives for a classic sporting look.

Except one of them might have stumbled upon the SAF website.

In case, you’re still lost, here is the look as per mentioned:

The collection will be available for sale in-store and online from March 8.

Looks Familiar?

When the collection was first announced on March 4 on HYPEBEAST‘s Instagram page, some Singaporeans realised something.

It looked a lot like the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) admin tee that, according to my colleagues, are comfortable AF.

Image: Carousell

NSFs and NSmen flooded the comments section, highlighting the similarity to the SAF PT kit.

Fact is, if you want to recreate the look, you can.

For example, with courtesy of the Mothership, you can actually recreate the look for a very low price.

First, you can purchase the army dry-fit tee (S$4.25), and pair it with these running trunks (S$6.13).

Image: SAF eMart

Lastly, complete the look with some New Balance running shoes going at about $42, making it the most expensive item of the outfit. 

Image: SAF eMart

The PFU Collection

However, that outfit is not the only specimen of the collection, though it is iconic.

According to HYPEBEAST:

The extensive collection includes T-shirts, sweaters, track shorts and pants, a collection of windbreakers, headbands and wrist bands, socks, hats and even a pair of slides, with each look captured in a clean, vintage-inspired editorial featuring the New Balance 993.

The windbreaker, available in an earthy-toned cream as well as black and khaki, is the collections standout piece as it’s a versatile add-on to any look. The cream palette featured on all the items in the collection is the go-to colorway, and the signature T-shirt, which features a front dual-branded logo and rear construction and collection breakdown print, offers a well-designed staple for those looking to take on one iconic piece from the drop.

As mentioned in the blurb above, the collection also includes earthly-toned cream and khaki sweatpants and sweatshirts.

Image credits: HYPEBEAST
Image credits: HYPEBEAST

As much as the design looks strangely familiar, I’ll have to say the rest of the collection looks unique enough and maybe a little like a prison outfit.

One thing’s for sure, we not only have beasts to fight for our country during wartime but more specifically, we have hypebeasts.

Editor: Oei, you know these are admit tees that we wear to sleep one, right? Not PT or what, wartime?

Erm…