Air Jordan 4 "Taupe Haze" Is Top Dog in This Week's Best Footwear Drops
Joined by READYMADE’s duet of Nike Blazer Mids, two new Casablanca x New Balance sneakers and a duo of adidas YEEZY BOOST 350 V2s.
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UPDATE (February 24, 2021): This week’s release slate will see several delays due to the effects of last week’s inclement weather on shipping. The Carpet Company x Nike SB Dunk High has been postponed until March 9 at skateshops and March 12 on Nike SNKRS, and the Whitaker Group’s exclusive Nike Waffle One has been postponed to March 4. The Pharrell x adidas “Triple Black” releases have been pushed back as well, and will now arrive on March 19.
ORIGINAL STORY (February 23, 2021): The last week of February is here, and March’s warm(er), welcoming days are right around the corner. Footwear-wise, the month is being sent off with a bang, as Nike, adidas, Reebok, and New Balance have all prepped appealing drops over the course of the next seven days — the 10 best of which are listed below in the latest installment of HYPEBEAST‘s Weekly Footwear Drops roundup. Before we dive in, let’s make sure you, our beloved readers, are up to speed by recapping everything that went down last week.
Sole Mates‘ latest installment saw independent designer Mr. Bailey share his appreciation for Nike ISPA’s futuristic Road Warrior, and we chatted with Casablanca head Charif Tajier about his latest New Balance 237 and 327 collaborations. We also provided a three pack of closer looks: the CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 “Kiss of Death,” the Maison Margiela x Reebok Classic Leather Tabi and the UNDERCOVER x Nike OverBreak SP.
Jordan Brand‘s spotlight-worthy moments were plentiful. Lovers of no-frills designs went wild for the A Ma Maniére x Air Jordan 3, and Travis Scott was spotted in what appeared to be a fragment design x Air Jordan 1 “Cactus Jack.” From an in-line standpoint, we also saw official images of the Air Jordan 4 “White Oreo.” On the Dunk front, NSW style was served up by the wild Dunk Low “Flip the Old School,” the detailed Dunk Low “City Market” and the bringback of the classic Dunk High “Syracuse.” The Air Force 1 “Keep ‘Em Fresh” made some noise with its tissue paper-covered build as well, and images of the reworked Air Max 90 “Bacon” delighted Air Max lovers. Finally on the Nike, Inc. front, James Whitner’s Whitaker Group followed up its aforementioned Air Jordan 3 collaboration with a store-exclusive Waffle One, and Nike SB’s Orange Label announced skateshop-only SB Dunk High and SB Blazer Mid styles for March.
Moving to the Three Stripes, it was the biggest week for Kanye West‘s adidas YEEZY line in a while. We saw a trifecta of 350s — the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Ash Pearl” plus the region-exclusive YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Ash Stone” and YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Ash Blue” — got our best look yet at the YEEZY 1020 Boot and heard rumblings of a March release for the long-teased YEEZY 450. The Simpsons also made its way into adidas’ plans with the ZX 1000 “Flaming Moe” and the Superstar “Squishee.”
Rounding out the week’s news was Under Armour’s fastest running shoe yet, the announcement of a Salehe Bembury x ANTA SB-01 and SB-02 restock and the return of Dee Brown’s Reebok Pump Omni Lite.
Caught up? See 10 of the best kicks releasing this week below. Per usual, note that any pairs listed below may be pushed back due to the continued effects of the coronavirus and head over to HBX to check out even more new footwear styles.
Nike Dunk High “Football Grey” and “Vast Grey”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: February 25
Release Price: $110 USD
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: A product of Nike’s oft-confusing staggered regional release slate, the Dunk High “Football Grey” and “Vast Grey” are dropping in the US this week after previously arriving at European stockists. The former mixes sail with soft blue, the latter gray and white, but both serve up scintillatingly simple Nike Sportswear style.
Maison Margiela x Reebok Classic Leather “Black” and “White”
Maison Margiela
Maison Margiela
Maison Margiela
Release Date: February 26
Release Price: $300 USD
Where to Buy: Maison Margiela, Reebok and HBX
Why You Should Cop: Combining Maison Margiela’s most famous footwear embellishment with one of the most seminal styles in the entire Reebok lineup, the Maison Margiela x Reebok Classic Leather is a seamless high-street collaboration. Its two newest colorways are no-frills “White” and “Black” makeups that ensure all attention is focused on the signature split toe. As a finishing touch, they even come with special Tabi socks.
Carpet Company x Nike SB Dunk High
Hanzuying
Hanzuying
Hanzuying
Release Date: February 26
Release Price: TBC
Where to Buy: The Berrics Canteen
Why You Should Cop: Following a Carpet Comapny-exclusive raffle, the Carpet Company x Nike SB Dunk High is now set for a full skateshop release. Founded by “two brown habibis” from Baltimore, Carpet Company is known for its rich prints and bold graphics, two key points that are on full display thanks to this Dunk’s detailed white/blue build, tear-away upper and plethora of details.
Pharrell x adidas NMD Hu, 0 to 60 STMT, TERREX Free Hiker and Terrex Trailmaker Mid “Triple Black
Nice Kicks
Nice Kicks
Nice Kicks
Nice Kicks
Nice Kicks
Release Date: February 26
Release Price: $150-$220 USD
Where to Buy: adidas and Nice Kicks
Why You Should Cop: Pharrell and adidas’ “Triple Black” collection is almost nearly 20 silhouettes deep, and this week sees a quartet of extra styles being added to its ranks. There’s two from adidas Originals (Pharrell’s signature NMD Hu and the motorcross-inspired 0 to 60 STMT) and two from adidas TERREX (the TERREX Free Hiker and Terrex Trailmaker Mid), all four of which are done up in tonal black colorways and offer subtle details.
The Whitaker Group Nike Waffle One
The Whitaker Group
The Whitaker Group
The Whitaker Group
Release Date: February 26
Release Price: $120 USD
Where to Buy: Social Status and A.P.B.
Why You Should Cop: Exclusive to select stores in the James Whitner-helmed retail empire, limited to 500 pairs and designed in part by footwear veteran Frank Cooke, the Whittaker Group’s Nike Waffle One is a nod to Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman’s legendary waffle iron footwear experiments. It communicates this inspiration in appealing fashion thanks to a mixture of artfully aged details and modern materials — nodding to the Swoosh’s past, present and future.
READYMADE x Nike Blazer Mid
Readymade/Nike
Readymade/Nike
Readymade/Nike
Readymade/Nike
Readymade/Nike
Readymade/Nike
Readymade/Nike
Release Date: February 27
Release Price: $110 USD
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: Straight from the mind of Yuta Hosokawa, the READYMADE x Nike Blazer Mid presents a deconstructed, unfinished look that’s centered around a bubbling sole, extra-thin Swoosh and unique lace accents. It’s not for the faint of heart, but for sneakerheads with the panache to pull it off it’s unquestionably the week’s most unique release.
adidas YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Ash Blue” and “Ash Stone”
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Release Date: February 27
Release Price: $220 USD
Where to Buy: adidas and YEEZY Supply
Why You Should Cop: Kanye West and adidas are sneaking in one more YEEZY drop before the month ends, prepping the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 in “Ash Blue” and “Ash Stone.” Both feature a cool-toned color scheme based around a vivid midfoot stripe and are regional exclusives: the “Ash Blue” will be available in North America, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and India, while the “Ash Stone” is dropping in Europe, Russia, Ukraine and APAC countries.
Air Jordan 4 “Taupe Haze”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: February 27
Release Price: $190 USD
Where to Buy: Nike SNKRS, Foot Locker and BSTN
Why You Should Cop: Blending an earthy brown base hue with black and white accents plus just enough of a pop thanks to its crimson tongue badge, the Air Jordan 4 “Taupe Haze” calls to mind images of Travis Scott’s friends-and-family Air Jordan 4 collaboration. Thankfully, you don’t have to know La Flame — or shell out five figures — to get your hands on a pair of these.
Casablanca x New Balance 237 and 327
New Balance
New Balance
New Balance
Release Date: February 27
Release Price: $140 USD
Where to Buy: Casablanca
Why You Should Cop: Charif Tajer’s Casablanca is apt at crafting elevated takes on popular New Balance silhouettes. For its latest effort, the Paris-based brand has added its signature jacquard monogram to the 237 and 327. It’s Casablanca’s first go-around with the 237 as opposed to its third with the 327 — but each pair looks equally effortless, which speaks to Casablanca’s eye for clean designs.
CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 “Kiss of Death”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: February 27
Release Price: $1,099 HKD (approximately $142 USD)
Where to Buy: JUICE Store
Why You Should Cop: 15 years have passed since CLOT and Nike released their first Air Max 1 “Kiss of Death,” so to celebrate the milestone they’re running it back. Though this second “Kiss Of Death” boasts a few notable differences from the first pair, it still presents a familiar helping of qui-inspired style with clear toeboxes, a full foot print on the translucent outsoles and a stately color scheme.
