The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1" by Virgil Abloh Oversees This Week's Best Footwear Drops
Pharrell’s adidas Humanrace Sičhona “Shock Yellow,” the Nike Dunk High “White/Black” and more are also releasing.
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The first month of the new year certainly flew by, and as January 2022 winds down to its remaining days, popular footwear brands have readied a new assemblage of releases for you to elevate your rotation. However, before we plunge into all of the goodies that Nike, adidas, New Balance and others have prepared, let’s backtrack and break down all of last week’s major sneaker headlines.
On the editorial front, our Sole Mates series added one more feature to its arsenal that entailed a conversation with digital tastemaker Alan Galloway aka oldmanalan about his love for the Reebok Club C. Of all the news that erupted last week, the offerings shown at Paris Fashion Week certainly took the cake. To coincide with Virgil Abloh’s last Louis Vuitton show, the late designer’s highly-anticipated Air Force 1 Low collaboration finally received a release date through an exclusive auction with Sotheby’s. A handsome amount of new offerings were also revealed by the Swoosh team including that of the Nike Dunk Low “Sun Club” colorway, upcoming Nike ZoomX StreakFly running shoe and a retro release of the Nike Air Force 1 Mid “Independence Day.” Plenty of forthcoming Jordans were also brought to light such as the Air Jordan 5 “Racer Blue,” Air Jordan 7 “Afro Beats” and the Air Jordan 12 “Playoffs” which were officially revealed, along with Air Jordan 5 “Green Bean” and the Air Jordan 5 “NFL Helmet” PE.
adidas previewed it fair share of new footwear launches as well including the adidas Y-3 UltraBOOST 22, upcoming Fear of God Athletics x adidas apparel and the adidas YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 CMPCT “Slate Red.” Elsewhere in the world of footwear, Dior previewed its impending collaboration with Birkenstock, BLOHM showed off its MF DOOM’s mask-inspired slides and LaMelo Ball announced his Rick & Morty x PUMA MB.01 collab.
Now that you’re all filled in with the latest in footwear, sift through this week’s top sneaker releases here below. And when you’re all wrapped there, be sure to head over to HBX to check out more sneaker styles.
The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh
Nicholas Llanton / Hypebeast
Nicholas Llanton / Hypebeast
Nicholas Llanton / Hypebeast
Release Date: Raffle: January 26-February 8
Release Price: Starting Bid: $2,000 USD
Where to Buy: Sotheby’s
Why You Should Cop: Unless you’re a celebrity or athlete that got seeded already, The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh can finally be in your collection thanks to an exclusive auction with Sotheby’s. This exclusive colorway mixes two forms of LV’ signature monogram patterns to create the perfect blend of high-end luxury and street-inspired sensibilities. Bidding for the shoes starts at $2,000 USD so be ready to shell out some serious cash.
Nike Dunk High “White/Black”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: January 27
Release Price: $115 USD
Where to Buy: Nike
Why You Should Cop: No matter how many times Nike delivers the Dunk with “Black/White” palette it seems as though consumers are always going to flock to it. And for good reason being that it’s still clearly the Swoosh’s most popular silhouette, and it’s extremely wearable. This pair deviates from the 2021 pair as the tongue branding no longer features a red-coated Nike Air hit.
P.J. Tucker x Converse Pro Leather Hi
The Better Generation
The Better Generation
The Better Generation
Release Date: January 27
Release Price: TBC
Where to Buy: Converse and Foot Locker
Why You Should Cop: The NBA’s sneaker king P.J. Tucker is dropping his very own lifestyle-focused Converse Pro Leather Hi collaboration. “Dubbed the Out Tha Mud” colorway as a reference to his rough upbringing, this kicks are styled with Tar Heel colors to represent his dreams of playing for UNC while growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Notes of Longhorn-inspired orange are also integrated into the tongue branding to call out his actual alma mater in the University of Texas.
Maison Margiela x Reebok Classic Leather Tabi Décortiqué Low
Reebok
Reebok
Reebok
Reebok
Release Date: January 28
Release Price: $595-650 USD
Where to Buy: Reebok
Why You Should Cop: The polymerization of high fashion and sportswear is a hot topic this week as Maison Margiela and Reebok are extending their partnership with a brand new Classic Leather Tabi Décortiqué Low collection. This is essentially a follow-up to their Classic Leather Tab High collection that dropped back in June 2021 but with a lower cut. Four colorways are included in the assemblage:“White,” “Black” and “Red” which will retail for $595 USD and the “Bianchetto” makeup which will cost $650 USD.
Pharrell x adidas Humanrace Sičhona “Shock Yellow”
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Release Date: January 28
Release Price: $180 USD
Where to Buy: CONFIRMED
Why You Should Cop: Pharrell’s signature footwear line with adidas will undergo some heavy expansion in 2022 with new colorways of silhouettes both old and new alike, and to close out the month of January he’s proffering a new Pharrell x adidas Humanrace Sičhona “Shock Yellow” makeup. The Virginia Beach native goes extremely bold for this new iteration as he’s splashed the knitted upper and sole unites in its titular shade, and has supportive accents of orange topple onto the tongue tabs. Additionally, the “Humanrace” branding that adorns the lateral wall shows up in a bright blue shade for extra flair.
atmos x New Balance 327 “Realtree”
New Balance
New Balance
New Balance
Release Date: January 29
Release Price: $120 USD
Where to Buy: New Balance and Foot Locker
Why You Should Cop: When it comes to creating sneaker collaborations, atmos will often exhibit its penchant for the use of nature-friendly and animal-inspired patterns. The former comes to the fore for this latest New Balance 327 collaboration as most of the uppers are styled with hunter camouflage graphics. Bright orange overlays across the throat and toe boxes come paired with brown suede heel overlays to complete its outdoor-inspired motif.
KASSL Editions x ASICS GEL-1090
Kassl Editions
Kassl Editions
Kassl Editions
Kassl Editions
Release Date: Raffle ends: January 29
Release Price: $275 USD
Where to Buy: END
Why You Should Cop: KASSL Editions has unveiled its first footwear collaboration, partnering with ASICS for a duo of GEL-1090 colorways. The new designs are both variations on a green and white colorway, with the color palette complemented by hits of metallic silver. The Amsterdam-based label has reimagined the classic runner with a protective sheath on the base layer — one in white and another in green — which is materialized with the same signature oil fabric as its signature coats to almost give the shoes a unique, surgical feel to them.
