06.12.2023

Best Sneakers of 2023 Recap

With less than a month left in the year, it is time to start thinking about our favourite releases thus far and considering which shoe will go down in history as the best shoe released in 2023. We asked a few of our team members for their takes, naming their top 5 releases, their least favourite release, and what shoe they think is the best of the year.

  

 

Ben:

 

  1. 1. Jordan 1 Retro Low OG SP Travis Scott Olive
  2. 2. ASICS Gel-1130 Kith Cream Starlight Blue
  3. 3. Nike Vomero 5 Supersonic Light Bone Black
  4. 4. Jordan 1 Retro Low Golf Travis Scott Neutral Olive
  5. 5. Nike Air Force 1 Low Tiffany & Co. 1837

 

"My least favourite shoe is the Jordan 4 Retro Cacao Wow

 

I think there has been so much momentum and solid colours of the Jordan 4's coming out all within the last 1-2 years, so it seems they ran out of ideas for colourways, and this one seemed pretty forced. They added colour blocks that didn’t go together, in my opinion.

 

Best shoe of the year: Nike Air Force 1 Low Tiffany & Co. 1837

 

I believe the Tiffany Air Force One will win shoe of the year because of the hype surrounding this release ever since it first surfaced on the internet. For Tiffany and Nike to do an official collaboration on Nike’s most popular model with the details of the Tiffany swoosh, it goes without saying it’ll be eye-catching." 

 

 

Shaun:

 

  1. 1. Jordan 1 Retro Low OG SP Travis Scott Olive
  2. 2. Nike Kobe 8 Protro Halo
  3. 3. Jordan 3 Retro White Cement Reimagined
  4. 4. Nike Air Penny 2 Stussy Fossil
  5. 5. Jordan 1 Low 85 Neutral Grey

 

"My least favourite shoe is the MSCHF Big Red Boot

 

The MSCHF Big Red boot is the worst shoe, strictly based on looks. The only reason it was popular was how wild and quickly it was memed. Overall, the shoe looks horrible. You can only wear it once, retailing for about $500.

 

Best shoe of the year: Jordan 1 Retro Low OG SP Travis Scott Olive

 

The Travis Scott Jordan 1 Olive is just a perfect shoe, the way the colours play off each other just makes it great for the fall. I didn't like the initial pictures of the shoe, but seeing them in hand made me love them, and in my opinion, it is undoubtedly the best shoe of the year"

 

 

Jed:

 

  1. 1. Nike Air Max 95 SP Corteiz Gutta Green
  2. 2. Nike CPFM Air Flea 2 Cactus Plant Flea Market Faded Spruce
  3. 3. Nike Air Force 1 Mid Off-White Pine Green
  4. 4. Nike Kwondo 1 G-Dragon Peaceminusone Panda
  5. 5. Air Jordan Retro 2 Black Cement

 

"My least favourite is the Jordan 4 Retro SB Pine Green.

 

I’m personally really not a fan of reworking old colour blocking such as the Military Blues here. I also disagree with the gum sole, it doesn’t look good with the grey and green. I understand the performance use with the added grip and padding, but I just think it’s unnecessary and just a product of the whole Jordan 4 hype

 

Best of the year: Nike Air Max 95 SP Corteiz Gutta Green

 

The 95 is my favourite Air Max Silhouette, and I love the colours of this release. The quality is very premium and detail-oriented, with their logo embroidered on the tongue or the camo sock liner. It feels very thought through. I don’t love the laces, but thankfully, that’s the easiest detail to change"

 

 

Matthew:

 

  1. 1. ASICS Gel-Quantum Zientzia Kiko Kostadinov Dark Grey Blue 
  2. 2. Nike Air Max 95 SP Corteiz Pink Beam 
  3. 3. adidas Samba Wales Bonner Silver 
  4. 4. New Balance 860v2 Aime Leon Dore Green 
  5. 5. Crocs Classic Clog DreamWorks Shrek

  

"Least favourite: New Balance 1700 Kith Toronto Pack

 

Both of the red and white colourways were a massive disappointment, in my opinion. The use of the colours of the Canadian flag was a lazy attempt for a Toronto-themed shoe. If the release of the shoe was timed with the grand opening of the Kith Toronto store, the whole release would’ve been better as a Toronto-exclusive shoe, but they ended up releasing it online to the general public anyway. Kith does online and city-exclusive shoes all the time, and it sucks they didn’t want to do it for the city of Toronto.

 

Best of the year: Nike Air Max 95 SP Corteiz Gutta Green

 

The overall hype of Corteiz getting a collaboration with Nike, given their history, was huge. The colour way is clean and wearable, the materials and quality of the shoes are lovely, and the execution isn’t too over the top and doesn’t deviate much from the original silhouette. This release also had great marketing campaigns featuring many celebrities in the commercials, such as Eduardo Camavinga, Phil Foden, Jorja Smith to name a few. They also hosted a crossbar challenge for a free pair, which was a really cool way to promote them. It seems like Nike let Corteiz go all out for the release, but they did us dirty with no shipping to North America."

 
 

Anthony:

 

  1. 1. Nike Air Max 95 SP Corteiz Gutta Green
  2. 2. Nike SB Dunk Low Born X Raised One Block At A Time
  3. 3. Jordan 3 Retro White Cement Reimagined
  4. 4. Nike Kobe 4 Protro Mambacita Gigi
  5. 5. Nike CPFM Air Flea 2 Cactus Plant Flea Market Faded Spruce

 

"Least Favourite: MSCHF x Crocs Big Red Boot (Yellow)

 

It is the most obnoxious and hideous release of the year. I understand the rise in popularity of Crocs and oversized footwear, but no one needed or asked for this boot, and we need to keep that same energy.

 

 Best of the year: Nike Air Max 95 SP Corteiz Gutta Green

 

I think in the history books, when we look at 2023, the rise of Corteiz from cult following to global stardom will never be forgotten. Their guerrilla marketing and London charm juxtaposed with the super-soaring UK grime scene, birthed a sneaker that is the epitome of being an authentic byproduct of the “ends”.

 

 

 

With the consensus being that either the Corteiz 95s, Tiffany Air Forces or the Travis 1s are the top 3 sneakers of the year, we see Nike dominating the sneakers market throughout 2023. However, it is nice to see a few other names like Adidas, Asics, Crocs and New Balance.

 

 

 

 

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