Image via Complex Original
11.
In a year where almost nothing felt familiar, the sneakers we loved provided some sort of stability. They were disrupted at times, sure, with release dates and the channels they released through shuffled around, but there was something comfortably predictable about the shoes that defined 2020.
There was the renewal of Virgil Abloh's design strategy, an overdue reboot that began with an underappreciated silhouette. There was the revival of Nike SB and Dunks in general, a wave you could see coming and didn't mind washing over you, even if a good number of those pairs were impossible to get. There were totally new and foreign shoes—Kanye West's best Yeezys this year don't even feel native to this universe, let alone current footwear trends—but the most sought-after ones were largely iterations of existing icons and interests. They were exciting, pushing the sneakers we knew to strange new places, but these were still the shoes we knew. In a year totally deficient in certainty of any sort, the familiarity felt just fine. These are the best sneakers of 2020. —Brendan Dunne
10.Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next%
Release Date: June 2
Price: $275
In the new millennium, the new century, the new decade that we're in, sneaker consumers must make room for new silhouettes to sit next to the classics of yesteryear. So while this list is dominated by remakes of retros from eons ago, it's also peppered with new shoes that push forward the role of footwear in our lives. No sneaker did that better this year than the Air Zoom Alphafly Next%, a controversial Nike running shoe with Zoom pods and a carbon fiber plate in its midsole that was nearly banned from this year's would-be Olympic games. The games didn't happen, and the ban didn't either, but that didn't temper this model's reputation as something that could legitimately, measurably, make you go faster. Some in the sport of running saw it as akin to doping, an unfair advantage that shouldn't be allowed. Chances are, they were watching the race from second place. —Brendan Dunne
9.J Balvin x Air Jordan 1
Release Date: December 8
Price: $190
Our list of the year’s best sneakers was nearly complete by the time J Balvin’s Air Jordan 1 collab hit retailers this December, but its late-year release provided the ideal bookend for a shoe we’ve been seeing and talking about since February’s Super Bowl Halftime performance. Its rainbow color palette may not be for everyone, and that’s OK—it wasn’t meant to be subtle. What it was meant to do was to capture the essence of J Balvin as a person, and to represent his music, style, and culture. It does so perfectly. The shoe, which J Balvin explained on Full Size Run, took three years to come to fruition, exudes his personal aesthetic, and crossed cultural barriers as the reggaeton superstar became the first Latinx artist to collaborate with Jordan Brand. It was a shoe that offered more than fleeting hype, and had the exact kind of positivity we needed after a year like this. —Zac Dubasik
8.Travis Scott x Nike SB Dunk Low
Release Date: February 29
Price: $150
It might ruffle some feathers to say that Travis Scott is the person to make Nike SB popular. It’s much more complicated than the rapper choosing to wear shoes and them all of a sudden becoming the sought-after sneakers of the moment. (But there is some truth to that, too.) Scott did start wearing Nike SBs over the past few years, raiding the vault at mythical sneaker resale shop Project Blitz and acquiring some of the rarest pairs of yesteryear. His appreciation for the sublabel and its SB Dunk sneaker saw resale prices balloon up on nearly all of its back catalog, especially the pairs worn by Travis.
So it makes perfect sense that he’d get to do his own SB Dunk, and any Nike product bearing his name is a contender for sneaker of the year. Some people felt a way about Travis being the savior for SB, as the brand has considerably cooled off since its heyday of the 2000s. But it’s undeniable: He is the sultan of cool for younger sneaker collectors and streetwear fans. A sneaker with his name and design influence on it is going to be well-received, no matter what. The Dunks are no different. There’s a tearaway bandana print that was a nice homage to Nike sneakers of the past. There are also the thick rope laces that haven’t been seen on any other SB sneaker. The colorway itself, navy and tan, stayed in Travis’ muted wheelhouse. They’re everything his fans could want and more. —Matt Welty
7.Off-White x Air Jordan 4
Release Date: July 25
Price: $200
This Off-White x Air Jordan 4 was first spotted in sample form at Virgil Abloh’s “Figures of Speech” exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2019. This year, the sneakers released as a women’s exclusive with extended sizing. The monochromatic "Sail" colorway wasn’t quite as deconstructed as Abloh’s other Air Jordans, opting for frayed overlays and premium paneling rather than totally translucent uppers. Unlike Abloh’s Air Jordan 5 with Swiss cheese-style cutouts from this year, the Jordan 4 uses his more common “Air” branding. It’s unique in that it doesn’t nod to an original colorway the way many of his Jordans do, instead delivering something entirely new. The cherry on top was an early release for women on the SNKRS app. A tweet from Abloh referencing his-and-her versions had men hoping for a second chance at the shoes, but thus far nothing’s come to fruition on that front. —Riley Jones
6.Yeezy Foam RNNR
Release Date: June 26
Price: $75
On-foot sightings of Kanye West’s American-made Adidas Yeezy Foam RNNR are few and far between. That can be blamed, at least in part, on the pandemic and resulting on-again, off-again quarantines. The reality in 2020 is that we don’t get to see much footwear, period, on people’s feet. But even social media shares of the Foam RNNR being worn are scarce compared to some of the more hyped models of the year, and that’s likely due to the fact that it just isn’t a super wearable shoe. It’s not really a sneaker, not exactly a slipper, and its bulbous and bulky shape tends to look awkward on-foot. Yet, given all that, the Foam RNNR’s importance is almost hard to overstate. In addition to being an exceptionally cool example of modern industrial design, its algae-based composite material is environmentally friendly, and its domestic manufacturing represents potential job opportunities. West has long postulated that his Yeezy line would become more than sneakers and apparel, and the Foam RNNR is the furthest realization of that vision yet. —Zac Dubasik
5.Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 992 'No Emotions Are Emotions'
Release Date: February 14
Price: $260
On paper, All-Star Weekend in Chicago this year looked like it would belong to projects helmed by one of two of the area's natives: Virgil Abloh, who debuted his Off-White x Air Jordan 5s there, or Kanye West, who rolled through the city delivering Adidas Yeezy QNTMs. While both of those releases made tons of noise, another hometown hero put his name in the conversation last February.
Joe Freshgoods’ New Balance collab may not have come into the weekend with the same mainstream name recognition as Abloh and West’s sneakers, but his community ties and knack for design proved to be the perfect reintroduction for the 992 silhouette. Originally released in 2006 and back for the first time since it was discontinued in 2010, the New Balance 992 was one of 2020’s most popular shoes, and it’s undeniable the Joe Freshgoods version helped drive a lot of the initial hype.
With an “Anatomy of the Heart” theme, the suede red and pink sneakers dropped on Valentine’s Day and had All-Star Weekend attendees lined up around the block in frigid temperatures. Now that COVID has shut down drops of that sort, it remains one of the freshest memories of people really going all-out for a pair of sneakers. —Riley Jones
4.Dior x Air Jordan 1
Release date: July 8
Price: $2,200
How do you elevate one of the best, most important Air Jordans ever? How do you steer a sneaker into the realm of haute couture without losing the accessible essence of sports fashion that made it such an important cultural force in the first place? Dior's collaboration with Jordan Brand, which featured a High and a Low version of the Air Jordan 1, sought to answer those questions.
It brought the shoe to new heights, both in price and production quality, by manufacturing pairs in Italy. They were meant to exude the luxury of a fine handbag, the edges painted and the silhouette wearing Dior's Jacquard oblique pattern. They appear relatively plain from a distance and do not boast their provenance. At $2,200 for the High pair, they are the ultimate tier of hype sneaker, yes, but that doesn't preclude them from being a connoisseur's shoe. Kim Jones, Dior's creative director, is a Nike man and a sneaker collector himself. He wanted to re-create the shape of the original 1985 Jordan 1 in the project, ensuring that it had an eye on Jordan's DNA. The lavish makeover may have blotted out some of the shoe's appeal in the sneaker world—in this form it is far from an accessible item—but it absolutely took Jordan collaborations to a new zenith. —Brendan Dunne
3.Union x Air Jordan 4
Release Date: August 29
Price: $250
I’m not a Jordan guy, as noted a million times, but damn did I want these sneakers. It’s funny I’m saying that now, in December 2020, because when the sneaker first leaked over the summer, nobody wanted the Union x Air Jordan 4s. To be fair, there were high expectations for this shoe. It had been teased for quite some time, even by Union itself. And the Los Angeles retailer’s 2018 Air Jordan 1s have become things of legend, grails even. Union’s take on the Air Jordan 4 was bold, but so is everything the store has ever done.
Chris Gibbs, the owner of the shop, admitted he wanted to alter the tongue on the shoe even though Jordan Brand wasn’t completely sold on the idea. The compromise ended up being a stitched down tongue that could be cut open to reveal a full-size tongue. The shoe is also the first Air Jordan 4 with a mesh toebox. The two colorways released online at Union first, with the “Guava” version being exclusive to the collaborator. It’s not fully clear whether that was intentional or if Nike itself didn’t buy into the shoe, as alluded to by Gibbs. Either way, the sneaker ended up being great, great enough to hit No. 3 on the end of the year list. Sweet, sweet revenge. —Matt Welty
2.Ben & Jerry's x Nike SB Dunk Low 'Chunky Dunky'
Release Date: May 23
Price: $100
Peanut butter and jelly. Oreos and milk. Sneakers and ice cream. Well, maybe the last pairing isn't as expected, but it managed to be the perfect marriage for Nike SB’s biggest release of the year. When we all first got a look at the “Chunky Dunky,” an official collaboration between Nike SB and preferred purveyor of pint-size ice cream Ben & Jerry’s, many of us weren’t sure what to make of it. On one hand, it was a colorful mashup of pop culture and sneakers that felt reminiscent of SB’s heyday in the 2000s. On the other hand, is a shoe covered in clouds and faux cowhide with a rainbow tie-dye liner really even wearable?
Regardless of which side you fall on today, it’s impossible to argue the impact of the “Chunky Dunky.” Your family members who know nothing about sneakers probably mentioned “those crazy ice cream shoes” to you. People ate frozen dairy out of them on the internet. They resell for thousands still. And against all odds, owners got their fits off while wearing them. In a world where sneaker culture is more mainstream than it has ever been and Nike SBs are hitting a new pinnacle of hype with each passing release, the “Chunky Dunky” is the perfect representation of the moment. Love it or hate it, the pair is also a reminder of how fun this hobby can be, and to not take everything too seriously. After all, they're just shoes. —Mike DeStefano
1.Off-White x Air Jordan 5
Release Date: February 15
Price: $200
Given the amount of sneakers that are released across a calendar year these days, it’s hard for a shoe to be heralded as the best-out early and hold the top spot by year's end. But not all shoes are as good as the Off-White x Air Jordan 5. Coming into 2020, Virgil Abloh’s output with Nike was losing its luster a bit for some. Nothing quite hit the same as 2017’s “The Ten” collection. But for NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago this past February, it felt like Abloh was restoring the feeling.
For one, it just made sense to release a brand-new Air Jordan collaboration in Chicago, the city where Michael Jordan carved out his legacy. The shoe was aided by the fact that it seemed like it was a bit more personal to Abloh. The designer recalls the Air Jordan 5 being the first Air Jordan he ever bought at retail as a teenager. The Off-White x Air Jordan 5s were debuting in a city that Abloh and Jordan each considered home. The story wrote itself.
In typical Abloh fashion, he made the iconic silhouette his own, using tweaks like a stripped liner, synthetic upper Swiss cheese’d with circles that could be cut out at the owner’s discretion, and a pre-yellowed sole that made the pair look like it was a vintage item found at the bottom of a Goodwill donation bin. The Air Jordan 5 is far from new. It’s 30 years old, actually. But Abloh still made it feel new for sneakerheads, just like the originals felt for him back in 1990. When you can do that with a classic, it’s hard to consider it anything less than the year’s best. —Mike DeStefano