Summary:
- New Balance launches Quiet Rebellion project to celebrate the Rebel V5 shoe through women's running and creative expression
- Exclusive Rebel Retreat event held in Milan combined a 6km run with wellness activities and gourmet dining
- Three members of New Balance's CRC community designed the event experience, including the food, environment, and sound ritual
New Balance has launched Quiet Rebellion, a project centered on the Rebel V5 running shoe. The initiative focuses on women who run, create, and live according to their own standards. The brand brought this concept to life through the Rebel Retreat, a women-only event that brought together New Balance athletes, media representatives, content creators, and community members.
The event took place on Thursday, November 27th. Participants started with a slow-paced 6km run from via Festa del Perdono 6 in Milan. The group maintained a relaxed tempo, emphasizing experience over speed.
After the run, participants moved to Spazio Below, an underground venue in central Milan. The space features exposed brick walls, warm lighting, and minimal industrial design. The setting provided the backdrop for the evening's wellness activities.
The program included a stretching session followed by a sound bath. These activities aimed to help participants transition from the physical exertion of running to a more meditative state. The event concluded with a gourmet dinner designed specifically for the occasion.
Three women from New Balance's CRC community shaped the event's key elements. Agnese Bernabucci, a chef, created the menu. She designed the dinner as a sensory experience, with each course building on the previous one. The meal reflected both the athletic nature of the event and the creative spirit of the Quiet Rebellion project.
Gabriela Alvarez handled the environmental design and overall mood of the space. She worked with the existing industrial aesthetic of Spazio Below to create an atmosphere that felt both grounded and elevated. Her choices in lighting, spatial arrangement, and decorative elements reinforced the event's themes.
Clara Iudica led the sound ritual that served as the centerpiece of the wellness portion. Her approach to the sound bath focused on creating an immersive experience. Participants reported feeling enveloped by the sonic environment, which helped them process the physical and social energy of the run.
The Rebel V5 shoe sits at the center of this project. The shoe combines performance technology with everyday wearability. New Balance designed it for runners who value both function and style.
Quiet Rebellion represents a shift in how New Balance approaches performance marketing. The project moves away from traditional athletic competition narratives. Instead, it emphasizes personal expression and individual definitions of success.
The retreat format allows participants to experience the brand's values through direct engagement rather than passive consumption. By limiting attendance and focusing on women, New Balance created space for deeper connections among participants.
The choice to feature community creators as the event's architects reflects another aspect of the Quiet Rebellion philosophy. Rather than hiring outside talent, the brand elevated voices already within its network. This approach reinforces the idea that rebellion comes from within existing structures, not necessarily from outside opposition.
The Milan event serves as the initial expression of Quiet Rebellion. The project's framework allows for future iterations in different cities and formats. New Balance positions this as an ongoing conversation about performance, creativity, and autonomy.
The combination of running, wellness practices, and shared meals creates a holistic experience. Participants engage with the brand through multiple touchpoints, each reinforcing the others. The physical exertion of running prepares the body for deeper relaxation. The sound bath transitions participants into a receptive state for social connection during dinner.
New Balance frames Quiet Rebellion as an invitation. The project asks women to define performance on their own terms and to find space for themselves within the noise of daily life. The brand presents the Rebel V5 as a tool for this process, a shoe that adapts to how you choose to move through the world.
Claudia di Gregorio
Born in Foggia, in southern Italy’s Puglia region, she is a fashion design student at NABA in Milan. With a keen eye for aesthetics, she explores the dialogue between fashion, art, and music: fields that continuously inform her creative outlook. Her background blends mediterranean warmth with metropolitan dynamism, shaping a sensibility that values both craftsmanship and innovation. Deeply inspired by travel and contemporary culture, she views design as a language capable of telling human stories through form, texture, and rhythm. She brings this perspective to her writing, examining fashion, music and art as cultural forces that reflect emotion, identity, and the spirit of our times.
@claudiadigregorio__