The Kicks You Wear's Best Everything for 2024 💫
The biggest storylines, most interesting plot points and Sneaker of the Year 👀
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate you.
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Alright, gang. Let’s get into it.
Sneaker of the Year: The AE1
It should come as no surprise to you that the Adidas AE 1 is my sneaker of the year. This is a shoe I’ve been championing throughout 2024. The silhouette has been firmly in my top spot all year long.
This sneaker made me rethink how I talk and think about footwear in 2024. What qualifies a sneaker as a SOTY candidate in the present day? For me, this shoe managed to accomplish something no other sneaker has been able to do in over a decade. That’s why it’s my pick.
We’ll get into that a bit more down the road. But, first, let me explain my criteria for SOTY.
The requirements: I consider three big categories when I think about the sneaker of the year.
Here’s my thought process on the AE 1.
Hype: The AE 1 didn’t carry the hype of, say, a retro Jordan release or a Dunk collaboration. Part of it is that the storytelling aspect isn’t as strong on the AE 1 because, well, it’s a new sneaker. We’re watching its story be written in real-time. Obviously, Adidas put marketing dollars behind the AE 1 and its campaigns were brilliant. But what was most impressive to me was the organic build-up for the excitement by the shoe that was fostered by the community. That’s why it still wins in this category for me.
Aesthetics: From a design standpoint, this was such a unique sneaker. It’s got that futuristic Adidas aesthetic but also feels like a basketball shoe that could’ve existed in the 1990s. That’s a unique combination you won’t see in any other sneaker this year. I don’t think I saw a bad colorway of the AE 1 all year. The pair I’m most partial to is the Georgia Red Clay pair. That pink is incredible.
Accessibility: These weren’t hard to come by. Multiple retailers had them. Colorways dropped consistently. This wasn’t one you had to wait in queues or stand in virtual lines — there were pairs to go around for every drop. This was legitimately a shoe for the people. It’s been a long time since we had a sneaker this good take on that role. This was special.
The other side: There will be people who push back against this pick.
The biggest argument against the AE 1 I’ve seen is that when people pick it, they never pick a specific colorway or model. It’s always just, generally, the AE 1. I think that’s a pretty fair criticism. No specific AE 1 pops into my mind when I talk about this as my sneaker of the year. Of course, I have my favorite colorway. But it’s probably different from your favorite colorway. I think that’s a positive for this sneaker. You might not.
If you feel rigidly that it must be one specific sneaker considered the SOTY instead of a silhouette, this pick won’t work for you. That’s fine, by the way! We can have differing opinions. Mine is not the end all, be all.
My pushback: I’d argue that it doesn’t need to be about one specific silhouette. Honestly, maybe it just generally shouldn’t be. Maybe we should be thinking about sneaker of the year differently.
Sure, it’s nice to have different, special collaborations that turn heads and catch eyes every single year. Those will always be in the conversation for most people.
But ask yourself this: What’s more rare now? What’s more interesting? An eye-popping collaboration or an inline model that captures the attention of the masses? In 2024, I’d say it’s the latter and not the former.
What Adidas and Anthony Edwards managed to accomplish with the AE 1 is something we haven’t seen in years. An inline, non-retro basketball model becoming one of the most popular models for a brand.
Collaborations are a dime a dozen these days. We get one every week now — usually on an older model we’ve already seen a ton of.
The Futura Dunk was awesome. It looks great. If you’re someone who was around for the early-to-mid 2000s Nike SB wave, it’ll restore the feeling for you. The reimagined Bred AJ4…a Bred AJ4. The Action Bronson 1906 models were dope and colorful. Shoes like these will always hold space in conversations.
However, for where the culture is today, the AE 1 has to be considered the more innovative and distinctive sneaker. While everyone tried to build something limited and exclusive that was coveted by many and could only be had by few, Adidas and Anthony Edwards gave us something cool as hell that anyone could have. They zigged where everyone else zagged. That’s awesome.
What colorway you pick or what version you prefer comes secondary to the fact that the AE 1’s existence and success are something to marvel at. We haven’t seen anything like this for a long time.
That’s why it’s the sneaker of the year. At least, in my humble opinion, anyway.
The biggest shockwave: John Donahoe’s downfall
And I don’t mean shockwave in terms of how shocking John Donahoe’s downfall was — I think we all saw that coming, right?
Let’s be real: I wrote about it in January at the top of the year. It was announced he’d be leaving in September. He finally went in October. The writing was always on the wall.
This had to happen: Donahoe’s time at Nike was up. Investors lost confidence in him. The brand’s shares were tanking. Employees didn’t like him — hard to blame them, considering all the layoffs.
Even Bloomberg was calling Nike uncool. Do you know how much of a disaster you must be for Bloomberg to call you a dork? He had to go, so he did. Now, Elliott Hill is in the picture. We’ll talk more about him in the next newsletter. For now, more on Donahoe.
His tenure at Nike will be remembered mainly for the mistakes he’d made. That’s understandable.
Never pivoting away from direct-to-consumer is chief among those mistakes. Nike lost so much cache because of that. Donohoe thought Nike could survive without its wholesale partners, and I guess it could technically have. The brand still towers over the rest of the industry. However, so many of its competitors were able to make gains because they occupied space that Nike had abandoned.
The layoffs were also another one. Just this year, the brand cut 628 employees. Many of them were from key departments. Sustainability, design, diversity. That’s not even counting the employees like Roshe Run designer Dylaan Rasch, who left the company instead of taking a job transfer. Nike lost a lot of people who simply knew what they were doing.
The bad investments in things that never went anywhere are abundant. What’s up with the .Swoosh thing these days? The RTFKT deal is cooked now. DTC is reversing. The Adapt tech is done. People complain about the lack of innovations at Nike these days, and I get it. But I’d argue that there actually was an effort to innovate. Some of it wasn’t very good.
There’s a lot to clean up at Nike these days. Hill and company have a lot of work to do. We have no idea how this will go.
But, at the very least, people seem much more confident in Nike these days with Donahoe out of the picture. To me, that counts for something.
Collaborator of the year: Salehe Bembury
Some of you will probably be a bit shocked by this pick. Trust me when I say this: I am, too.
I wouldn’t tell you that Salehe Bembury released any of my favorite collaborations this year. He’s had some solid joints, to be sure. And some joints that have been incredibly frustrating because of how impossible they’ve been to purchase.
But collaborator of the year? Initially, that felt like a bit much. But then I went over his 2024 resume. Guys. Salehe was cookin’.
He started the year with a New Balance collaboration on the 1906r and finished with a New Balance collab on the 530.
He signed a deal with Puma to become the brand’s head of design for its basketball category. He’ll design Puma’s next signature shoe.
He launched the Crocs Juniper, which is completely new territory and innovation for a brand that usually traffics in clogs.
Bembury also launched the Saru clog as a lower-cost alternative to the more expensive Pollex line, which he’s had so much success with.
The big picture: These things have flown under the radar this year. Bembury’s work in 2024 didn’t steal too many headlines and wasn’t necessarily the most hyped. It was sometimes frustrating, like with the Heat Be Hot release at the top of the year.
But it was consistent. It was innovative and fresh. And it was versatile. He’s had a great 2024 that should set him up for even bigger things come 2025.
Can’t wait to see what else is on the table for this guy.
My favorite collab: KOI x Air Max Sunder
I know it’s coming at the end of the year, but nothing made me feel quite like the Kids of Immigrants Air Max Sunder drop made me feel.
I won’t rehash too much, considering I just wrote about it last week.
Here’s what I had to say then:
Every collaborative effort from every footwear company you see will tell you that the sneaker they’re dropping together is “more than a sneaker.” That’s the point of all this — to make it feel like a much bigger deal than it is.
But very rarely do they make you feel that way. The collab is always just another sneaker — especially these days. Collaborations are a dime a dozen. We get multiple collabs from multiple brands every week. Nothing feels special.
But this one does: Kids of Immigrants makes you feel the weight of the brand’s upcoming Air Max Sunder collaboration with Nike. It’s less about the shoe and more about the message.
This spot is incredible.
This sneaker feels less like a sneaker and more like a message. That’s really hard to do. Kudos to Kids of Immigrants for pulling it off so cleanly.
Biggest riser: On
On has had a fantastic year as a brand. It’s taken the momentum from the pandemic running boom and rode it to the point where it’s built a solid foundation for itself as arguably the premier luxury sportswear brand. Nobody teeters that line better.
The financials show you just how good things have been. The company’s shares have doubled since this time last year.
But that only tells you half the story. On made this happen by picking the luxury lane and building up its cultural cache in the space.
Here’s how: It starts with the brand’s partnership with Zendaya, who had already established herself as one of the premier faces in high fashion through partnerships with Valentino and Louis Vuitton.
That’s the space On wants to be in. It hopes Zendaya can take it there.
That’s made obvious through Zendaya’s edit for the brand, which has consistently been luxury-coded.
Don’t get it twisted: The brand still knows where its bread is buttered, and that’s in sports. On essentially had Zendaya function as another signature athlete through tennis. Her critically acclaimed role in Challengers helped a lot with that.
They placed her in ads with Roger Federer and had a lot of fun with it.
The big picture: I do wonder where things go from here. On struck gold with Zendaya coming off that Challengers run, but Challengers won’t be in theaters every year. They’ll have to get creative moving forward while teetering that luxury sportswear line.
It’ll be a fun challenge to watch.
The biggest winner: Us
There are a lot of folks out there who say sneaker culture is down right now. They’ll tell you that we’re in a “dead” period because of the declining resale market and the lack of momentum coming from the top of the marketplace.
Don’t believe them. That’s not true. Not even close — 2024 was a great year to be a sneakerhead.
For the first time in a long time, inline models from every brand seemed to compete with collaborations. You didn’t have to rush to buy things.
The resale market was down because the lack of hype concentrated on a handful of models. People aren’t just into Jordan 1s and Dunks anymore. They’re wearing Asics and Saucony. Tastes are changing.
Because people’s tastes have changed, brands must be more thoughtful and innovative. That’s how we get things like the AE 1. That’s why we’ll have a great 2025.
The lesson of 2024 in sneakers is this: The brands don’t determine what’s cool. We do. We always have. I mean, my goodness, guys. We made New Balance sneaker loafers a thing this year! As much as I didn’t like them, that was cool. And I’m glad there were people out there who did like them. That’s how it should be.
We’re all unique. We all have our own tastes and sensibilities. That doesn’t mean any one person’s style is good or any other person’s is awful. We are who we are and we like what we like. That’s who we’ll always be, no matter how much the brands and their algorithms try to convince us its the other way around.
Let’s keep it this way moving forward, shall we?
What’s droppin’ bruh?
New Balance 1906L “Magnet” — Wednesday, December 11
Nike Sabrina 2 “Citron Tint” — Thursday, December 12
Auralee x New Balance 990v4 — Friday, December 13
Anthony Edwards AE 1 low “Christmas” — Saturday, December 14
Air Jordan 11 “Colombia Blue” — Saturday, December 14
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic week. Hope you get that holiday shopping done finally.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to hit me via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or via message at Substack here.
Peace and love. Be safe. Be easy. Be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
I love the AE1s and I'd be tempted to get a pair for myself if I could figure out how to style them. Even the more neutral/vanilla colorways might not go with, from a vibes standpoint, my usual wardrobe.
Good pick for SOTY. Got the "Iron Sharpens Iron" edition and they're so cool. I will say I found it difficult to get AE1s in my size (14)... it took almost a year. Sell outs every time.