The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 429 — A tight SOTY race
Ask 10 people what their sneaker of the year is and you might get 10 different answers
Goooood morning, friends! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you giving me some of your time.
How about that French Open this weekend?!?! My goodness, man. First, Coco smokes Sabalenka and then Alcaraz and Skinner give us an instant classic? I love tennis so much. I suck at it but I’m finna get out there and practice my forehand.
Let’s get to it.
Idk what to pick
June is one of my favorite months of the year. It signals the beginning of summer, which is my favorite season. It’s also the sixth month of the year, which means we’re (somehow already!) at the halfway point of the year.
Given that, I usually love to use June as an excuse to talk about the Sneaker of the Year conversation. Sometimes I write about it, sometimes I don’t if it isn’t interesting.
Right now? Yeah, it’s interesting.
The question: I’ve been thinking about what I’d pick right now for Sneaker of the Year in 2025 if the year were ending today. Where would I be? I genuinely have no idea.
I don’t know!
The state of play: Making a SOTY pick this year will be tough, not because there isn’t a sneaker worthy, but because there are so many sneakers out there that are good candidates.
Since publishing this newsletter for the first time back in 2019, I can’t remember having a more difficult time thinking about my favorite sneakers of the year. By this time last year the AE 1 craze had already taken over. That’s not necessarily the case this year. Nothing has pulled away from the pack.
My list: I had eight different sneakers pop into my mind as candidates this year off the top of my head.
The Nike A’One - A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe has arguably been the most hyped signature sneaker we’ve seen since Nike basketball’s peak in the early 2010s.
Nigel Sylvester x “Brick” Jordan 4 - There hasn’t been a more hyped shoe so far in 2025. Well, maybe one? But we’ll get to that in a second.
UneardOf x Adidas AdiStar 3 - These were super limited, but I think this is Sneaker Twitter’s most loved shoe so far.
Joe FreshGoods’ Aged Well 992 - No sneaker has told a better story than this one this year. JFG aged his first New Balance sneaker through design. Cool stuff.
Cortiez x Nike “Honey Black” Air Max 95 - Remember when I said no shoe had more hype than the Brick AJ4? These might have. What a release.
Union LA Chicago-Shadow AJ1 - Somehow, these feel forgotten about in all the madness we’ve seen so far? Excellent shoe, though.
Black Metallic Air Jordan 5 - I’m unsure about these because they’re technically retros and I don’t pick retros for this. But does a “Reimagined” model technically count as a retro?
New Balance 1906L - I don’t really like these personally and they technically initially released at the tail end of 2024. But I’m not sure there’s a shoe that generates more IRL conversations than these. I’ve seen it personally.
That’s a lot! And there are plenty of sneakers that didn’t make this list that I genuinely think could have been included. Jeff Staple’s Brooks joints are one of my personal favorites so far this year, for example. That might be my most worn pair of sneakers so far in 2025. The only reason it isn’t here is that I think it’s more of a personal favorite than one that has broken the zeitgeist, but I could also be wrong about that.
And I’m also fairly certain that some sneakers aren’t on this list that you all think probably deserve to be on it. You’re probably right about that. I can think of a few more myself. But this is only a top-of-the-dome June list. More will come.
That’s my point. There’s a lot of really good stuff this year. I’m not sure anything has necessarily met the threshold of great or groundbreaking. Things have come close and, with more time, something eventually will. But, as things stand now, we’re looking at a bunch of high-quality, thoughtful releases that people have been able to enjoy.
The big picture: From a creativity standpoint, footwear is in a fantastic space. Consumers are drawn to variety and eclecticism. They’re willing to wear just about anything these days, from hoop shoes to mesh runners to sneaker loafers. That diverse palette has led to a lot of good products entering the market.
If you’re not creating something interesting or thought-provoking as a sneaker brand in 2025, you’re likely being left behind. People only have so much attention to give these days, and every brand has to earn it. Even Nike.
I don’t know how long this era in footwear lasts, but I hope it sticks around for a quite a bit longer.
The Samba influence
It feels like Adidas can call everyone their son these days.
The brand has shaped contemporary footwear trends in ways that we haven’t seen since the peak of Yeezy, and it’s done it with a $100 shoe.
What’s happening; The Adidas Samba is simply the most influential sneaker in footwear.
Yes, the trend is slowing. The snobbiest of sneakerheads are beginning to move away from the Samba the same way they did the Panda Dunks because everyone has a pair. With that said, though, the sneaker’s influence still vibrates throughout the culture.
If you need proof, look no further than Jack Harlow’s feet.
Enter New Balance: You’ve surely seen New Balance’s 442 collaboration with Harlow by now.
The 442 has been around. It’s typically found in its actual boot form, but there are also indoor versions of the sneaker. It’s not like this shoe didn’t exist before.
But for this sneaker of all sneakers to get a Jack Harlow collab from New Balance? Yeah, man. This wasn’t on my bingo card for 2025. If it was on yours, please, tell me what lottery numbers to play this week. I’d love never having to work again.
This collaboration wouldn’t exist if not for the Adidas Samba boom. It’s not just New Balance. It’s Nike with the Total90 and the Gato. It’s Puma with the King Indoor. It’s all the ballerina and thin-soled sneakers we’re seeing these days.
The big picture: It’s hard to believe that Adidas’ influence in this space is this strong, considering where the brand was three years ago. The company’s shares were in the tank. It was grasping for straws, simply trying to find something that’d work.
I’d talked about Adidas needing to find a foundational piece to rebuild and lead it into the future. The brand began to lean heavily on the Samba. To be completely transparent, I didn’t believe in it.
Boy, how wrong I was. Now, it feels like every other week I’m seeing a Samba-like sneaker come down some company’s pipeline.
That Adidas grip is strong.
Power moves
I love it when we see creatives and designers from around the industry take the necessary steps to grow and expand their brands. Joe FreshGoods is doing just that with New Balance.
What’s new: The last couple of weeks for JFG have been interesting, to say the least.
He relocated his headquarters to a larger space in Chicago and hosted a warehouse sale in the city to celebrate the move.
His Every Now and Then brand signed on as a collaborative brand with New Balance and launched the “EveryDays” NB RCVRY this weekend.
They launched the shoe in Chicago with a late-night block party at the JP Graziano deli.
The backdrop: Years ago, I’d wondered if JFG would grow into a larger role at New Balance and what that role might look like. That was in 2022. He’d just pushed out the first “Conversations Amongst Us” collection with the Black Soles group at the company.
That felt like an important moment to me. It signaled that New Balance was willing to let JFG put his fingerprints on brand projects outside of his own collaborations.What was unclear to me was how far the brand was willing to allow him to go.
Today, we see just how far they’ve taken this partnership.
Not only is the company more than happy to have JFG’s stamp on in-house projects, but the move to work with Every Now and Then in a larger capacity signals that NB sees the Joe FreshGoods brand as a larger part of its image.
This is similar to New Balance working with Kith or Aime Leon Dore. Yes, it’s huge to work with a Ronnie Fieg or Teddy Santis. But when their brands are involved, the picture being painted becomes broader. The expansion of the creative’s reach within the brand grows exponentially.
Not only will it ultimately benefit New Balance and open the brand up to a new customer, but it’ll also be a boon for Joe and the Every Now and Then brand itself as it continues to grow and expand.
I’m excited to see where this goes. I’m also very excited to try (and probably fail) to get those Green 992s that are coming our way.
Credit where it’s due
We’ve all complained a lot about the Adidas and Fear of God partnership, really, from the very moment it was announced. Rightfully so, I think. None of the criticisms have been unfair. The collab felt expensive and uninteresting. FOG’s Adidas collection was deeply discounted. It was a bad look.
Yes, but: Today, we’ve got a good look. The Fear of God x Adidas Spring-Summer ‘25 collection just dropped and, I’ve got to say, this stuff looks awesome.
I don’t know what it is about this particular collection that I love the most. It does seem a bit heavy for my taste — especially considering the season — but the muted color palette is just so on point. I’m even digging the Ash Pearl colorway in the sneakers.
It’s still very expensive, if I’m being real. I’m not in the space where I can pay $230 for a tank top and some shorts. But it’s Jerry Lorenzo — he’s not here to be affordable.
If it ain’t about affordability, though, it better look good. This looks good. Well done, Jerry.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Kith x Asics “Vintage Tech” collection — Monday, June 9
New Balance 2000 Abzorb — Thursday, June 12
Salehe Bembury x Crocs Pollex Clog “Tree Camo” — Thursday, June 12
Vandy the Pink x Atmos x Asics Gel-Nimbus 10.1 “Strawberry” — Friday, June 13
Nike x The Better Gift Shop Air Max DN8 — Friday, June 13
That’s a wrap. Thanks so much for reading, gang. Appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. Have a great week.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, hit me up at mikedsykes@gmail.com or shoot me a message here via Substack.
Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
It's definitely the Brick by Brick Bike Air