Side Kicks Streetwear • Global Release Guide
Updated: 30 September 2026
About the release
Portland rapper Aminé continues one of the best-executed artist-to-brand relationships in modern sneaker culture with his most personal New Balance collab yet — the New Balance 992 'Outdoor School' (style code U992NE). It's his first-ever MADE in USA release, a proper milestone in the four-year partnership that started with 'The Mooz' 610 in 2023, extended through the 740 in 2024 and the ABZORB 2000 double-drop in 2025. Inspired directly by the MESD Outdoor School — an Oregon field science program that has taken sixth graders into nature since 1957, and the program Aminé himself attended at Milk Creek. This is Aminé's second school-themed sneaker collab, following his 740v2 tribute to Benson Polytechnic High School.
The upper runs an earthy chocolate / reddish brown / amber palette across the classic 992 mesh underlays with suede overlays — plus a proper standout addition: glossy patent leather panels in a warm hickory hue that give the pair its most eye-catching visual detail. ABZORB cushioning underfoot as always. Collab detailing runs deep: Club Banana logo on the tongues, Aminé signature on the heels, and an insole carrying Outdoor School curriculum-sheet graphics with a camouflage print. Mismatched colours on the outsoles add a small playful detail. Every pair ships in a tackle box-inspired shoe box containing a 'wood cookie' wooden name tag stamped with 'Horizon Cabin', charm keychains shaped like a frog, compass, whistle, slug and fish, and a handwritten letter from Aminé explaining what Outdoor School meant to his childhood.
New Balance 610T Aminé 'The Mooz'
The 2023 debut collab that kicked off the whole Aminé x NB run
Shop Now →TL;DR – Aminé x New Balance 992 'Outdoor School' U992NE Release Date, Price & Where to Buy
- Club Banana release: Friday 2 October 2026 (clubbanana.com — Aminé's own channels)
- Wider global release: Friday 9 October 2026 (newbalance.com and select stockists)
- Model: New Balance MADE in USA 992
- Colourway: Chocolate / Amber (also described as reddish brown)
- Style code: U992NE
- UK retail price: £210
- US retail price: $220
- Sizing: Unisex
- Where to buy: Club Banana (early) then New Balance and select stockists (wider)
- Milestone: Aminé's first MADE in USA collaboration
- Key details: Mesh underlays with suede overlays, glossy patent leather panels in hickory hue, ABZORB cushioning, mismatched-colour outsoles, Aminé signature on heels, Club Banana logo on tongues, Outdoor School curriculum-sheet camouflage insole graphics
- Accessories: Tackle box-inspired shoe box, 'wood cookie' wooden name tag stamped 'Horizon Cabin', charm keychains (frog, compass, whistle, slug, fish), handwritten letter from Aminé
- Inspiration: MESD Outdoor School, Oregon field science program running since 1957
Release date and price
Two release windows. The Aminé x New Balance 992 'Outdoor School' first drops on Friday 2 October 2026 via Club Banana, Aminé's own channels. The wider global release follows one week later on Friday 9 October 2026 via New Balance's website and select stockists. UK retail is £210, US retail $220. Unisex sizing.
Aminé's previous NB collabs have consistently sold out on release day — 'The Mooz' 610, the Mini Mooz slip-ons, the 2024 orange / blue 740, the 2025 ABZORB 2000 double drop have all moved fast. This being both his most personal design story and his first MADE in USA execution puts it in a different tier of demand entirely. The Club Banana early window is expected to be the harder route to secure a pair; the 9 October wider release will be the more realistic access point.
Design and details
Aminé has quietly become one of the most storytelling-consistent artist collaborators in modern footwear. Every one of his NB drops has carried a clear personal narrative — this is the most direct: a whole shoe designed around a childhood memory he still has hanging on his bedroom door, unearthed while visiting home for Christmas three years ago.
Autumnal palette with patent leather twist
The palette leans hard into autumnal Oregon woodland — chocolate brown, amber, reddish-brown tones across the classic 992 mesh underlays and suede overlays. The standout: glossy patent leather panels in a warm hickory hue that give the pair its most unexpected visual detail. Where most 992 collabs stay tonally uniform, the patent leather introduces a shine and texture contrast that makes the shoe pop on-foot in a way that's genuinely different. The mismatched-colour outsoles throw in another playful detail below.
Insole and heel storytelling
The collab-specific detailing carries the Outdoor School reference through the small touches. Aminé's signature lands on the heels, the Club Banana logo appears on the tongues, and the insoles carry Outdoor School curriculum-sheet graphics with a camouflage print — a properly considered nod to the field science programme's teaching materials. Understated enough to work in wider rotation, specific enough to reward closer inspection.
The tackle box, the wood cookie, the charms
Where the drop becomes a proper collector's piece. The shoe ships in a tackle box-inspired shoe box that visually references a fishing tackle box's compartmented design. Inside: a 'wood cookie' wooden name tag stamped with 'Horizon Cabin' (a direct callback to the name tags Oregon sixth graders decorate at Outdoor School camp), a set of charm keychains shaped like a frog, compass, whistle, slug and fish for personalising the wood cookie, and a handwritten letter from Aminé printed on tissue paper explaining what Outdoor School meant to his childhood. The handwritten note reads as a genuinely personal recollection rather than marketing copy — one of the more heartfelt pieces of packaging any sneaker collab has shipped this year.
Aminé x New Balance 992 'Outdoor School' images
Credit: New Balance / Aminé
New Balance 610S Aminé 'Mini Mooz'
The slip-on Aminé collab from the 610 run
Shop Now →Aminé's four-year New Balance run and the MADE in USA milestone
Aminé was announced as a New Balance partner in 2022, and has since built one of the most consistent artist-collab catalogs in modern sneaker culture. The run so far: 2023 — 'The Mooz' 610 alongside a trifecta of 610S 'Mini Mooz' slip-ons. 2024 — the orange and blue 740v2 (his first school-themed drop, tributing his own Benson Polytechnic High School graduation year of 2012). 2025 — two neck-cranking ABZORB 2000 executions helping debut the ultra-tech silhouette. 2026 — the 992 'Outdoor School', his first MADE in USA collab.
Moving into the MADE in USA tier is a meaningful career milestone in the New Balance ecosystem — the premium line represents proper brand elevation rather than lifestyle expansion. Aminé's arc from beloved 610 releases through the tech-forward ABZORB 2000 and now into MADE in USA mirrors New Balance's own trajectory as a brand, and positions him amongst the tier-one artist collaborators in the current NB roster.
Where to buy
The Aminé x New Balance MADE in USA 992 'Outdoor School' releases Friday 2 October 2026 via Club Banana, then Friday 9 October 2026 via New Balance and select stockists. UK retail £210. Browse other Aminé x New Balance drops, more New Balance 992 releases and the wider New Balance archive on Side Kicks.
FAQ
When is the Aminé x New Balance 992 'Outdoor School' release date?
Two release windows. First release is Friday 2 October 2026 via Club Banana (Aminé's own channels). Wider global release follows on Friday 9 October 2026 via newbalance.com and select stockists.
How much does the Aminé 992 cost?
UK retail is £210. US retail is $220. Reflects the MADE in USA production and the substantial extras included in the tackle box packaging.
What extras come in the box?
Every pair ships in a shoe box designed to mimic a traditional fishing tackle box, containing: a wooden 'wood cookie' hangtag stamped with 'Horizon Cabin', a set of charm keychains shaped like a frog, compass, whistle, slug and fish (for personalising the wood cookie), and a handwritten letter from Aminé printed on tissue paper explaining what Outdoor School meant to his childhood. The wood cookie references the wooden name tags Oregon sixth graders decorate at MESD Outdoor School camp.
What is Outdoor School?
MESD Outdoor School is an Oregon field science program that's been taking sixth graders on week-long camping trips since 1957. Students learn about soil, water, plants and animals, and are asked to leave their phones and electronics behind to fully immerse in the outdoors. Aminé attended the Milk Creek campsite as a sixth grader, and finding his original wood cookie name tag on his childhood bedroom door three Christmases ago inspired this whole collab.
Discover more from Side Kicks
