When I heard that Lack of Guidance and New Balance were collaborating, I was pumped. Like, fully pumped.

Because this is a collaboration that just makes sense. Not in the obvious, logo-swap, stick-a-boot-on-it kind of way, in a more mature way, the kind that comes from both sides understanding football well beyond the pitch.

Since its inception in 2016, Lack of Guidance has always lived in that in-between space – where football bleeds into everyday life. New Balance, even more so lately, also feels like it’s circling that same territory, just with a bit more weight behind it. So the fact the two have finally sat around a table and created something can only be good news.

The collection itself is titled Around The World and moves naturally through football as it actually exists, shaped by who’s playing it, where it’s being played, and how it looks in that moment.

The gear leans into that same honesty, too. Eleven pieces, built around the humble training bib – that fluorescent, mesh staple of Sunday League – reworked as the central motif. It runs through everything: two jerseys, two pairs of shorts, a full tracksuit, socks, a cap, even a ball.

There’s a pair of 442 turf sneakers in a muted military green that ground it back on the pitch, while a reversible track jacket and zip-detail pants play with that balance between function and expression.

The standout, though, for me, is the bib itself – flipped into a wearable vest that can zip out into a tote. Simple idea, done properly.

Shot in Curaçao and the Netherlands by Gilleam Trapenberg and Eva Roefs — both long tied to Lack of Guidance — they feel true to place. Trapenberg’s Curaçao is all warmth and light, slightly romantic without overdoing it. Roefs, back in the Netherlands, brings it down to earth — flatter skies, familiar backdrops.

That’s the thing, Lack of Guidance x New Balance doesn’t try too hard. And in football, that’s usually where the good stuff lives.

It lands April 17, in-store and online. If you’re not picking anything up, chances are you’ll still clock it on me soon enough – and yeah, you can try something on... if you must.