When New Balance first unveiled the Snoafer back in January 2024 – a sneaker-loafer hybrid that seemed poised to become every marathon-running boardroom baddie's footwear of choice – it was met with raised eyebrows and cautious applause.

But since then, the silhouette has steadily built a cult following through colourways and textures that range from respectable to, well, delightfully questionable. But apart from Junya Watanabe’s cerebral take, no one else dared to tamper with the oddball hybrid – until Danish juggernauts GANNI showed up with a snake-print upper.

The Copenhagen label is no stranger to playful subversion. Remember those sunshine-yellow sneakers that looked like Vitamin D in shoe form? Or the quartet of T500s that practically with a pop of leopard print? This time, the brand turned its eye to the 1906L, merging Danish whimsy with New Balance’s archival pragmatism. The result: a Snoafer that looks equally at home at a gallery opening as it does on your commute, assuming your commute involves a strong flat white and a tote full of unread art books.

To launch the collab, GANNI and New Balance tapped rising artist Samara Cyn, who embodies the campaign’s theme of duality. Whether you see it as a tongue-in-cheek style experiment or a serious contender for your rotation, this shoe proves that fashion’s strangest marriages often yield the most intriguing offspring. Call it the mullet of footwear: business on top, party on the sole.

The specs (for the sneakerheads)

The New Balance 1906L loafer-sneaker is a bold, slip-on hybrid that swaps laces for a penny-loafer tongue, built on the ABZORB SBS-infused 860v2 sole unit, and dressed in a striking mix of golden snakeskin climbing the tongue, black mesh with oversized perforations, tempered silver overlays, burnished black accents, and a GANNI-branded butterfly logo on the pull tab.