Yesterday Sneaker Freaker and New Balance released a viral video with Skippy the Kangaroo delivering a very important message, the release of the Sneaker Freaker x New Balance 850 which is also know as Skippy. Shortly after the video made it rounds around the web these detailed images of the New Balance 850 have been released giving us a clear look at whats to come December 5th, 2009.

The Sneaker Freaker x New Balance 850 consist of a very eye catching design and features a piece of material which comes straight from their homeland of Australia, kangaroo leather. The tan kangaroo leather is seen wrapping around the toe of the shoes with tan mesh on the tox-box. The mid-section and heel panels use a combo of black leather, black nubuck and black mesh with white leather added to the heel tab. Popping right off the black and tan base are accents of neon yellow on the inner lining, on the heel cap and outlining the black NB logo. To accompany the upper an off-white mid-sole was added along with a white outsole.

Click here to check out more detailed photos of the Sneaker Freaker x New Balance 850 and watch for the sneakers to release on December 5th, 2009. Via: NiceKicks

For years Louis Vuitton (LVMH), has battled numerous trademark infringement court cases to protect their iconic and world famous LV branding. Now, you would think that a company who knew the value of their branding and their products would know what it means to other companies. Apparently thats not the case when it comes to Louis Vuitton. It seems as if they feel they shouldnt be stepped on but yet feel like they can step on others. And now its coming back to haunt them.

A couple weeks ago New Balance filed a lawsuit in Boston’s U.S. District Court charging that The Minstrel, a new shoe released by Louis Vuitton at a price of $590 is an exact replica of the New Balance 574, a trademarked design from New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. that retails for a little over $50.

The suit that New Balance filed also claims that the company (New Balance) has collaborated with numerous companies and celebrity’s on its popular 574 model that The Minstrel released by LV may confuse customers and lead them to believe that the sneakers are some sort of New Balance x Louis Vuitton collaboration when they are indeed not.

As you can imagine this isnt something New Balance is to pleased on, given the fact this was no joint effect between the two brands. If it were, then we would have a highly successful model on our hands, as the suit even states itself with the quote “Indeed, it is possible that had New Balance authorized Louis Vuitton to design a special Louis Vuitton edition of the iconic New Balance 574 shoe, the Minstrel might have been a highly successful collaboration.”

This suit was filed back around mid-September and no new news has yet to surface on the case. Either things were handled with the quickness out of court to avoid a huge media storm on the story or the court proceedings are still taking place. Coming from somebody whos been to court many of times, this stuff can take months, if not years before it gets settled.

Im personal on team New Balance though. The 574 is a classic and one of my favorite sneakers when it comes to comfort level. Not to mention New Balance is an American company based out of Boston, so i gotta give it up for team USA on this one.

Its been 3 months since a preview of the Overkill x New Balance ‘Berlin Wall’ Pack surfaced online, a pack paying homage to the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many had speculated on what New Balance model the pack would actually be made up from and just when exactly the sneakers would be released. Now thanks to HighSnobiety we can now confirm a release date for the pack and give you a look at some detailed photos of the sneakers.

We have now learned that the Berlin Wall Pack is made up from three pairs of the New Balance 557. Each of the three sneakers feature a white mesh and gray nubuck base on the upper with one pair sporting red, the other blue and the third black. It may not be apparent but the secondary colors used within the sneakers are actually meant to have some very symbolic meaning to them. The red represents the USSR flag, the black for the Berlin bear mascot, and blue for the U.S.A. The insoles of the shoes have photos displayed on them taken during the wall of the Berlin Wall with another pair having words written on them in German.

The Overkill x New Balance 557 will officially be released on December 16th, 2009 at Overkill. The pack will be limited to a total of 557 pairs. Click here to check out more pictures.