This Week’s Biggest Sneaker Releases, and Where to Get Them
We're getting back into the swing of good releases, and this week starts in earnest. Adidas's Nite Jogger is the brand's first major push of the year, launching an entirely new silhouette in the running style category-the footwear genre that changed Adidas's entire position in the industry. Air Jordan offers a one-two punch with the Hot Punch Jordan 4s (our favorites of the week), and Russell Westbrook's colorful latest signature. Nike delivers two strange collaborations-one with Martine Rose and the other with Commes des Gar?ons. Finally, Converse's ongoing collection with Just Don gets its latest retro take on a sneaker that's expectedly chunky and right on key for the collaborators.
Vans are perennially the eminently affordable option, and we’ve come to expect that their heavy usage as skate shakers means they stand to be replaced often. But every now and then, Vans releases versions of the classics that are meant to last, and these LX Old Skools are one such project. Three different colorways (black, off-white, and taupe) are available in the traditional make up of a low profile vulcanized sole and the iconic upper, but this one has been done up in suede with tonal leather jazz stripes. The look is a little more elevated than the styling we’re used to, but no need to worry about the price tag on them: At $80, they’re still the most budget-friendly option on the list.
Release: 1/9
Founded in 2011, Japanese streetwear brand Cav Empt has become a favorite amongst the stylish who go beyond the traditional offerings. Known for glitchy, digital-inspired prints, the brand brings its aesthetic to the Air Max 95 this week in a highly anticipated collaboration with Nike. Both the Black/Tan and White/Black colorways offer texture and pattern that has a random feel to it, striking a balance between minimalism and chaos.
Release: 1/10
When a new sneaker does well, brands tend to reimagine the shoe year after year, updating the look to match trends and updating technology to keep shoes on the cutting edge. The problem is, as the years go on, we often lose what made the shoe a winner in the first place and often the brands have to go back to the OG.
This week, we’re introduced to the newest incarnation of the Air VaporMax and we gotta tell ya: It’s even better than the original. The Air VaporMax 2019 featured the same sole that made the shoe a success in the first place with a hyperfused upper that uses ribbon pipping to create the effect of classic paneling with newer technology. At the quarter, we see internal structures to help with lockdown in a way that’s aesthetically awesome. Plus, the launch colorway of black and gold is very classy.
Release: 1/10
Russell Westbrook is known for ostentatious style, often making aesthetic decisions that leave many scratching their heads. That's why the name of his signature sneakers with Jordan-Why Not-makes so much sense as a reflection of his tastes and in the design. The Zero.2 releases this week, with a cacophony of influences, styles, materials, and colors, all by design. One could slice up the shoe into its component parts and find dozens of references and point out nearly bizarre choices, like having the size tag appear on the sole, and the materials tag (normally hidden deep inside the shoe) on the exterior heel. In this first iteration of the shoe, no fewer than six materials appear on the upper in no fewer than eleven colors. It's a lot, and if you have the same gumption as Westbrook, you'll be able to make it work.
Release: 1/10
SHOP ￡110, launches.endclothing.com
A hold over from 1994, the retro '90s runner craze that appeared a few years ago gets a little bit of a renaissance this week with the return of the Air Max2 Light. With the retro runner trend behind us, brands have stopped the flood of releases to adopt a more considered approach to bringing silhouettes back, and now is the perfect time for the Air Max 2 Light. The shoe that was modeled as the successor to the Air Max Light features a truly bizarre pattern that creates shapes and textures that were seldom seen again until Raf Simons started his work with Adidas not so many years ago. In this first return of the shoe, a blend of red, white, blue, but mostly yellow, makes for a colorway that's bright and offers a nod to the past while staying firmly in the present. At the moment, this release looks like it's E.U. only.
Release: 1/11
We’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. Sneaker culture is complex and filled with layers of performed masculinity and an obsession with the past, so an old-school silhouette attached to Jordan’s stories history remade into an expression of social femininity is beyond refreshing. This week, the Jordan 4 has been done up entirely in pink patent leather and tonal tooling for a look that’s irreverent and exciting without becoming too complicated.
Release: 1/12
SHOP $130, adidas.com
Everyone has their own relationship with fitness and engages with sport in their own ways, forcing an incredibly broad range of practices, and the unique takes aren't always catered to. Much of the running industry is created for those that run in the bright light of day, but many run at night-especially in a season when the sun sets in the late afternoon. This week, Adidas releases the Nite Jogger, a running sneaker catered towards those who run in the dark. The shoe is dope on its own, with a progressive blend of materials and well thought out paneling with Adidas's cutting edge running tech. A Boost sole guarantees a comfortable ride with hits of neons and reflective 3M to keep runners safe and visible at night.
Release: 1/12
SHOP $110, converse.com
A blast from the past, Converse’s ERX 260 returns this week, thanks to Just Don. DonC is known for his love of heavy, chunky retro sneakers and his ongoing collaboration with Converse has made for the reintroduction of sneakers like these, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. The ERX 260 returns ushered in under this “Metal Pack,” which features metal rivets on the quarter and heel of the red and white pairs, and at the ankle on the black. It’s the size and weight of these shoes that make them fun, so don’t attempt a sleek look with these-that’s the opposite of the intention.
Release: 1/12
The Dad Shoe trend all started with the OG: Nike’s Air Monarch. Since the shoe’s status was reaffirmed last year, we’ve seen a few luxe treatments, but nothing like what Martine Rose has cooked up. Inspired by a size 15 upper sewn into a size 9 sole, this unique treatment of the shoe has a very warped look. We’ve almost never seen anything like it. The rippling and warping of the shoe is held in place with EVA inserts. And while the technical considerations of the sneaker are remarkable, what’s ever more impressive is the transformative concept. The famous while and blue colorway remains intact, while the black colorway has been leveled up with patent leather. The pink colorway is new and especially bold.
Release: 1/12
SHOP NIKE $330, site TBA
If you don’t know legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield, you’ll still know his work. He designed the original Air Max 1, the Air Trainer 1, and every Jordan starting with the 3 through the 15. Everything he touches turns to gold-well, almost everything. The Presto Foot Tent was one that actually failed. The shoe uses the original upper of the Air Presto and installed two fiberglass posts to hold a mesh panel over the shoe because of… reasons? It flopped. But Commes des Gar?ons brings it back in this new collaboration that will be made available only in CDG’s Hong Kong store for now. We love when a reviled shoe is brought back into a new context for a new life, so we can’t wait to see what happens with demand.
Release: 1/12
We're getting back into the swing of good releases, and this week starts in earnest. Adidas's Nite Jogger is the brand's first major push of the year, launching an entirely new silhouette in the running style category-the footwear genre that changed Adidas's entire position in the industry. Air Jordan offers a one-two punch with the Hot Punch Jordan 4s (our favorites of the week), and Russell Westbrook's colorful latest signature. Nike delivers two strange collaborations-one with Martine Rose and the other with Commes des Gar?ons. Finally, Converse's ongoing collection with Just Don gets its latest retro take on a sneaker that's expectedly chunky and right on key for the collaborators.
From Nike, Adidas, Vans, and more.
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