Junya Watanabe MAN x New Balance P400: The Black Leather Basketball Sneaker NYC Fans Are Watching

Junya Watanabe MAN and New Balance introduced the P400 on the Fall/Winter 2026 runway during Paris Fashion Week in January 2026. It is a new basketball-derived New Balance silhouette, and in the Watanabe version the entire upper is black leather.

The shape keeps clear basketball roots: a thick, sculpted sole and sweeping upper lines. Branding is restrained, with "JUNYA WATANABE MAN" stamped asymmetrically on the tongue, in white according to Sole Retriever. On the runway the shoe appeared in two looks, one of them styled with dress pants, a tie and a top hat.

Early reports mention Fresh Foam X-inspired cushioning, though specifics on fit and underfoot tech have not been detailed. The standard P400 was expected at broader retail in mid-February, while the Watanabe edition was expected later in 2026. Sneaker Bar Detroit reports that it should arrive through Junya Watanabe retailers and New Balance channels, and reads the staggered timing as a way to let the silhouette establish itself first.

Watanabe is a protégé of Rei Kawakubo and has been part of the Comme des Garçons universe since the early 1990s. His MAN line has become a regular home for collaborations, including The North Face, Levi's, Carhartt WIP and New Balance. The New Balance relationship includes the 1906L, which Sneaker Bar Detroit credits with helping push the sneaker-loafer idea forward, and a 471 pack covered earlier by Sole Retriever.

For Japanese readers in New York, the P400 is a case of a Japanese designer reworking an American performance model in his own minimal register. Specific New York stockists and pricing have not been reported, so this is a product to follow through Junya Watanabe retailers and New Balance rather than a single NYC address.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Sneaker Freaker, Sole Retriever, Sneaker Bar Detroit.)