fragment design and Jordan Brand Charge up This Week's Best Footwear Drops

Happy halfway point of the month, HYPEBEAST footwear family. If you’re getting your fall rotation right, this week will likely be a fruitful one for you — there’s an incredibly diverse slate of collaborations, some well thought-out IP kicks and a few revitalized classics to boot. Before we dive into this week’s best styles, let’s take a primer on everything that went down last week first.

First up was an in-depth history lesson and duo of exclusive interviews. HYPEBEAST dove into the history and cultural significance of adidas’s A-ZX line, and spoke with former adidas YEEZY GM Jon Wexler about his move to Shopify, what he learned from Kanye West and more. A-COLD-WALL* founder Samuel Ross also discussed his new Converse collaboration. Detailed looks at a duo of NBs were available as well: Bodega’s 997S “Better Days” and Casablanca’s fresh set of 327s.

Kanye West’s acolytes had plenty of news to digest as well. West took to Twitter to reveal the rest of 2020’s adidas YEEZY releases, and an ultra-rare pair of Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Mismatch” samples signed by the bombastic multihyphanate popped up as well. From a business standpoint, StockX founder Josh Luber — a man that’s made a lot of money off Kanye’s kicks — announced that he’d be leaving the company to pursue other business ventures.

On the Jordan Brand front, classics and collabs shared time in the spotlight. It was announced the beloved Air Jordan 4 “Fire Red” — complete with Nike Air branding on the heel — would return on Black Friday. An interesting Russell Westbrook-inspired “Why Not?” pack appeared, reviving the oft-underutilized Air Jordan 16 alongside a studded Converse Chuck 70 Hi. Jordan Brand’s baseball athletes got in on the fun too with Max 200 PEs and an ultra-rare Air Jordan 5. Finally, Virgil Abloh’s Off-White™ x Air Jordan 5 “Sail” got an on-foot look ahead of its rumored holiday release.

Rounding things off were art-coated Nike Blazer Mid ’77s, Air Max 90s and Air Force 1s from artist Ruohan Wang, a NYC-centric Air Force 1 from KITH, a Nike Kobe 5 Protro PE for PJ Tucker, a BEAUTY & YOUTH x New Balance collaboration, the return of the Nike Air Max 1 “Lemonade” and official release info for the Maison Margiela x Reebok Tabi Instapump Fury.

Now that we’re all caught up, let’s dive into this week’s 12 best drops. Please note that any and all release dates are subject to change due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, and check out HYPEBEAST’s Trading Post for even more info.

fragment design x Jordan Brand Air Jordan 3 and Air Cadence

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Release Date: September 17
Release Price: $200 USD (Air Jordan 3)/$130 USD (Air Cadence)
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS and Foot Locker
Why You Should Cop: fragment design head Hiroshi Fujiwara already has some of the most impactful Nike/Jordan Brand collaborations of all time under his ample belt, so fragment’s Air Jordan 3s and Air Cadences only bolster that reputation even further. The former uses a simple blend of white and black with special branding and details while the latter uses a technical build to sit somewhere between casual and running shoe, but combined the two serve a perfect mix of new and old that adds yet another feather to Fujiwara’s cap.

A-COLD-WALL* x Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star Lugged and ERX

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Release Date: September 17
Release Price: $140 USD (Chuck Taylor)/$160 USD (ERX)
Where to Buy: Converse and HBX
Why You Should Cop: Samuel Ross’s beautifully brutalist design ethos is on full display with his new Converse collaboration: fresh takes on the Chuck Taylor All-Star Lugged and ERX. One’s a technical, durable sneakerboot hybrid while the other is swathed in supple suedes, and each is entirely ACW.

KidSuper x PUMA Collection

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Release Date: September 17
Release Price: $80-$140 USD
Where to Buy: PUMA
Why You Should Cop: KidSuper founder Colm Dillane is a noted football fan, so his five-shoe collection with PUMA — consisting of the Style Rider, CELL Dome Sock, Nitefox, Oslo-City and Wilo — takes the ethos of the pitch, brightens it up and brings it to the streets. KidSuper’s signature flair for the dramatic is on full display across each silhouette thanks to polka dots, wildly-altered builds and clever details that are sure to delight his legions of faithful fans.

Star Wars x adidas The Empire Strikes Back Collection

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Release Date: September 17
Release Price: $90-$180 USD
Where to Buy: adidas
Why You Should Cop: The first batch of silhouettes from Star Wars and adidas’s The Empire Strikes Back-themed collection spotlights Princess Leia (UltraBOOST), Darth Vader (Superstar), Lando Calrissian (NMD R1 V2) and C-3PO (Top Ten Hi) in detailed fashion, using appropriate color schemes, recognizable tongue badges and plenty of special embellishments that make them true fan service in footwear form, and an apt celebration of The Empire Strikes Back‘s 40th anniversary.

Nike Dunk High “Spartan Green”

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Release Date: September 18
Release Price: $120 USD
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: 2020’s been the year of the Nike Dunk Low, but 2021 is looking like it might be the year of the Nike Dunk High, so the festivities are kicking off a touch prematurely with this “Spartan Green” makeup. Also known as the “Pro Green,” it’s a simple-yet-effective style that blends crips white and rich green for a heritage athletic look.

adidas YEEZY BOOST 380 “Pepper” and “Pepper RF”

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Release Date: September 18 (“Pepper RF”)/September 19 (“Pepper”)
Release Price: $230 USD (Non-Reflective)/$250 USD (Reflective)
Where to Buy: adidas and YEEZY Supply
Why You Should Cop: After releasing globally last week, Kanye West’s adidas YEEZY BOOST 380 “Pepper” is set to debut stateside this week. Arriving in both reflective and non-reflective versions — both of which retain signature details like sharply-shaped heels and BOOST midsoles — the “Pepper” will bring a little spice to any sneaker lover’s fall lineup.

Reebok x Brain Dead Pump Court and Beatnik

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Release Date: September 18
Release Price: $160 USD (Pump Court)/$120 USD (Beatnik)
Where to Buy: Reebok
Why You Should Cop: Continuing its recent run of Reebok collaborations, Kyle Ng’s Brain Dead has presented colorful takes on both the modernized Pump Court and the classic Beatnik. With a wild mixture of colors, materials and accoutrements, Brain Dead’s latest continues its irreverent collaborative ethos in visceral fashion.

Air Jordan 14 “Hyper Royal”

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Release Date: September 19
Release Price: $190 USD
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS and Foot Locker
Why You Should Cop: It’s been a relatively quiet year for the Air Jordan 14, but now the silhouette Michael Jordan secured his sixth and final NBA Championship in is revving up in a new “Hyper Royal” colorway. Playing off its motorsport inspiration artfully with bright blue accents, the “Hyper Royal” combines championship-ready style and a new-yet-familiar color scheme to great effect.

Afew x Saucony Shadow 5000 “Time and Space”

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Release Date: September 19
Release Price: €150 EUR (approximately $178 USD)
Where to Buy: Afew
Why You Should Cop: Sneakerheads may be short on both time and space, but they’ll be wanting to get their hands on both when the Afew x Saucony Shadow 5000 “Time and Space” releases. Inspired by Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, equipped with an elegant color scheme and featuring the genius theoretical physicist’s doodles on the midsole, the shoe is a thoughtful homage to one of history’s greatest thinkers.

Nike Air Max 1 “Limeade”

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Release Date: September 19
Release Price: $140 USD
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: An upgraded take on a standout style from 2006’s memorable “Powerwall” pack, the Nike Air Max 1 “Limeaide” combines a refreshing lemon-lime colorway with plenty of retro Nike Air Branding. Summer’s sunniest days may be behind us, but this warm weather-ready style is one that’s worth carrying over to the fall.

END. x adidas Superstar “Alternative Luxury”

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Release Date: September 19
Release Price: $130 USD
Where to Buy: END.
Why You Should Cop: Taking its name quite literally, the END. x adidas Superstar “Alternative Luxury” is a masterful mishmash of materials, tones and textures. Luxe leather bases give way to multi-colored plaid overlays, bits of suede and more — proving that luxury is what the wearer opts to make of it.

Instant Skateboards x Nike SB Dunk Low

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Release Date: September 19
Release Price: $100 USD
Where to Buy: Instant Skateboards
Why You Should Cop: A celebration of the Japanese skate mainstay’s 25th anniversary, the Instant Skateboards x Nike SB Dunk Low supplies a bold color scheme, extra tough toe and special branding to boot. It’ll release via Instant on the 19th, but many other shops have been slow to announce drop procedures — so this Dunk could very well be another one of Nike SB’s strangely-staggered releases.