Salehe Bembury and Crocs Take Center Stage In This Week's Best Footwear Drops
While the Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX and Nike Dunk Low “Goldenrod” also land.
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When it comes to festive gifts, nothing quite beats unwrapping a box-fresh pair of sneakers on the big day. And while many things gradually draw to a sombre close as Christmas looms, luckily for those who still have presents to buy, the merry-go-round of footwear continues to spin at pace with releases from the likes of Salehe Bembury, Crocs and a trio of adidas YEEZY all dropping this week. But, before diving into the best upcoming drops, here’s a swift recap of the biggest news in the world of footwear.
The latest instalment of Sole Mates dropped over the weekend, which sees HYPEBEAST sit down with ZILVER founder Pedro Lourenço to discuss reinterpreting classics and sustainability, as well his undying love for Nike’s ISPA Road Warrior.
Nike served up its usual offering of closer looks this week with the Air Force 1 N7 “Woven Cork”, Air Force 1 Mid “Paris” and Air Max 90 “Air Sprung” taking centre stage, while adidas also kept us busy with a Paradigm collaboration and the unveiling of its T-Mac 1 “All Star”.
Away from sneakers, Givenchy dropped a duo of cozy winter mules, Nas‘ chicken and waffle establishment Sweet Chick hooked up with Clarks Originals for two takes on the Wallabee and Balenciaga launched its new square-toed Trooper silhouette.
Now you’re updated with the latest in footwear, take a moment to browse through the top 10 releases of the week below. And when you’re all wrapped up, be sure to check out HBX for more footwear offerings.
Salehe Bembury x Crocs Pollex Clogs
Crocs
Crocs
Crocs
Release Date: December 14 (Crocs), December 15 (Extra Butter)
Release Price: $85 USD
Where to Buy: Crocs and Extra Butter
Why You Should Cop: Salehe Bembury has reworked one of Crocs’ most favored silhouettes in the Pollex Clog, dousing it in two colorways of “Cucumber” and “Menemsha”. Instead of the traditional upper, the designer has made use of his fingerprint pattern to form dramatic concave ridges across the entire base, while various holes remain atop the toe boxes and on the forefoot to provide wearers with extra breathability. Each shoe is then rounded out with co-branded hits debossed into the heel straps for added flair.
Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX “Light Bone”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: December 16
Release Price: $200 USD
Where to Buy: Nike
Why You Should Cop: Shaped up with a structure of a regular Air Jordan 1, thus new silhouette is equipped with “Sail” ripstop material outfitting the toe boxes, quarter panels and tongues featuring hybrid branding labels while the mudguards. The “Light Bone” color shades in the collar flaps and heels with GORE-TEX branding on the laterals under a matching black Swoosh. A crisp white midsole sits atop a black split rubber and translucent outsole to finish off a winter-ready look.
Nike Dunk Low “Goldenrod”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: December 16
Release Price: $100 USD
Where to Buy: Nike
Why You Should Cop: Designed to translate the color schemes of its 1985 “Iowa Hawkeyes” Dunks, Nike’s latest Lows have been embellished with a “Goldenrod” colorway that drapes the sneaker’s Swooshes, overlays, interior liners, laces and the heel overlays. A solid black is then slotted into the remaining spaces of the leather base such as the toe boxes, quarters, collars, tongues and the heels, while crisp white midsoles and bold yellow treading down below conclude a retro-inspired look.
Adidas YEEZY 450 “Resin”
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Release Date: December 17
Release Price: $200 USD
Where to Buy: adidas
Why You Should Cop: Equipped with a breathable PrimeKnit upper and laces styled with a full “Resin” exterior, the latest YEEZY 450 from Kanye is arguably one of the best yet. The insoles use the sneaker’s its titular shading as it covers the entire background, yet also ushers in tiny notes of black atop the adidas and YEEZY logos. The midsoles are formed with a bulbous and ridged one-piece EVA material that features curvy patterns across its entire outsole and a tiny adidas insignia by the toe tips.
Air Jordan 1 High “Hand Craft”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: December 17
Release Price: $170 USD
Where to Buy: Nike
Why You Should Cop: Packaged with multi-colored panels that mix between neutral tones and vibrant accents, this latest Air Jordan High comes treated with various colors, the most prominent being the forefoot which is supplied with an “Archaeo Brown” hue. Adjacent to this comes forest green overlays on the throat, plum-like panels for the lower heel, solid black Swooshes, collars and tongues, and chocolate brown ankle flaps. What’s more, the Nike Air tongue branding and laces closest to the ankle are dyed with a fluorescent orange and bold contrasting white stitches appear on the borders of each base layer panel.
Adidas YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Beluga Reflective”
Nicholas Llanton/Hypebeast
Nicholas Llanton/Hypebeast
Nicholas Llanton/Hypebeast
Release Date: December 18
Release Price: $240 USD
Where to Buy: adidas
Why You Should Cop: This forthcoming iteration of Adidas’ YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 bears all of the original design cues that the 2016 pair had, but receives an upgrade in the form of high-vis reflective detailing. A PrimeKnit upper is pieced together with grey and black knitting and comes contrasted with a louder blast of orange that drips over the lateral post-dyed monofilament side stripes. Reflective notes are sprinkled across the entire base which provides the kicks with an extra pop when flashed by a camera or seen in dimly-lit settings. Ribbed midsoles underneath are treated with a semi-translucent gray tint and come loaded up with BOOST foam cushioning.
Adidas YEEZY BOOST 700 MNVN “Metallic”
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Release Date: December 20
Release Price: $220 USD
Where to Buy: adidas
Why You Should Cop: Kanye leans on a set of neutral tones to dress up all of the YEEZY BOOST 700 MNVN’s various parts. The majority of the synthetic base is filled in with a “Metallic” hue and comes accessorized with stark black tongues and overlays across the heels and on the sides of the toe boxes. The usual reflective notes come into play here again as they show up on the oversized “700” hits on the lateral walls and on the aforementioned overlays. Chunky sole pieces — which are packed with BOOST foam cushioning — are mostly swathed in black, but have small amounts of charcoal gray that fill in the rear holes and coat the treading.
FPAR x Nike SB Blazer Low Beige
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: December 20 (overseas), US release TBC
Release Price: $110 USD
Where to Buy: Nike
Why You Should Cop: FPAR makes use of an earthy tan hue to drop off onto a sultry suede Nike base. For contrast, creamy accents are dispersed to the scaly Swooshes, tongues and heel overlays as well as the laces and overlays that are positioned next to the throat. The shoes also come embellished with a black and beige snakeskin panel on the forefoot and blinged out Nike and FPAR lace dubraes that are drenched with a metallic gold skin.
