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The first shoe to feature New Balance’s now-famous 'N' logo was its 320 model in 1976 and almost every shoe that’s followed has been decorated the same way: with the New Balance ‘N’ plastered to the side of the shoe. However, Imran Potato might just have convinced New Balance to let him subvert the iconic logo.

The fashion designer has uploaded a look at a potential New Balance collaboration onto his Instagram account, tagging New Balance in the story alongside #leak. 

The sneaker is an all-black New Balance 9060, a chunky but relatively muted sneaker when compared with Imran Potato’s other footwear exploits. However, this version of the shoe switches the ‘N’ logo on the side of the shoe for a ‘P’ — and the custom branding doesn’t end there.

On the tongue of this potential collaborative sneaker, as well as above the toebox, New Balance’s branding has been replaced with Imran Potato’s take on the American footwear label’s logos. 

If this is a real collaboration, then changing the New Balance logo for a ‘P’ is a pretty big feat. 

There is, of course, every chance that this isn’t a real collaboration and that Imran Potato is just trying to stir some controversy (in which case, it has worked).

Imran Potato (real name: Imran Moosvi) is known to bootleg brands (he recently created a bootleg pair of chunky America Cup sneakers with Potato written down the tongue in place of Prada) and creating wild footwear including caveman clogs and rat slippers.  

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However, as well as bootlegging big brands, he has also worked with some. His XXL Vans collaboration, for example, proved a big success (I’m now seeing chunky Vans Old Skool sneakers, sans Imran Potato branding, regularly). 

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Only time will tell whether this is another official sneaker collaboration from Imran Potato, but this is the type of stunt you could imagine him pulling off.

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