At a moment where it seems like every sneaker release is but a few clicks away, we find ourselves reminiscing for a time when it wasn't so easy. If you told us 20 years ago elusive Japan-only releases would be at our fingertips, we'd have jumped for joy. Like many technological 'advancements' though, maybe we had it better back then.

Like a much-needed antidote, New Balance presents what is—in some ways—a retro release model. A total of five versions of their instant-classic 991v2 in an array of colours are being released as regional exclusives. What this means in practice, you'll be able to each colour in one place. That's it.

Whether accessibility fatigue was on the minds of Sam Pearce and New Balance UK's design team when they came up with this release concept we can't know. What we can be sure of, is the charm to a regional-exclusive release approach. It harks-back to an era where you'd need to know someone on the other side of the world and trust them enough to send funds for a shoe that you'd see for the first time when opening a beat-up cardboard box covered in labels and paperwork.

Do we wish we had all five pairs to sell? Absolutely, if only because we're just as addicted as anyone else and we want a full set ourselves. Do we mind missing out in return for a proper-limited release that allows locals a one-up over others? Absolutely not.

This version, exclusive to the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market—which UP THERE has been selected to represent—is finished with canary yellow pigskin suede. This gives them a bold and sporty look which we haven't seen on a 991v2 until this moment. The rest of the design is matched to other shoes in the pack, with lattice mesh and dark midsoles creating uniformity amongst all elements except the hero colour.

The New Balance 991v2 'City Exclusive' APAC edition (U991YK2) is available via raffle ending August 28. You won't get them anywhere else, so whether you're looking to get the entire set or just this one pair—good luck!