26 Sneaker releases for 26 Weeks.

As we reach July 2nd, 2024 is officially halfway to completion and with it many sneaker releases, both highly anticipated and some rather underappreciated, have come and gone. In no particular order, here are 26 releases this year so far and why they should be considered for your collection.

1. Air Jordan 1 High OG WMNS “Latte”

In the past year, I’ve noticed that I like a lot more women’s sneakers than men’s which obviously don’t come in larger sizes. The ‘Latte’ Jordan High are a prime example of that and raise the question of why exactly are some trainers exclusively made for men and women.

2. Travis Scott X Air Jordan 1 Low OG “Elkins”

Most of Travis Scott’s collaborations with Nike are absolutely brilliant, resell for thousands, and will be considered as ‘grails’ for many many years. I even think the collaboration with Nike Golf is brilliant for the most part and would be owned by myself I had the was any good at the sport, and had a spare £500 on top of that. Despite the ‘Elkins’ not being my personal cup of tea, it is part of the collaboration and times conveniently with the UK leg of Travis’ world tour. This shoe was one of the most anticipated to be release so far in 2024, and is likely to resell for a fortune too.

3. Nike Dunk Low “Varsity Green”

The first dunk but not the last on this list. The ‘varsity green’ dunk is another in the long line of highly popular dunks designed with a white base and a single other colour. Nike has found a formula that’s cheap to produce, needs limited marketing it would seem, and is globally successful. As you will learn while working down this list, I don’t see Dunks like this going away any time soon.

4. Nike Cortez “Forrest Gump”

I am well aware that the Forest Gump Nike Cortez is a re-release and is almost entirely popular due to its prominent place in the film. However, that film happens to be one of my favourites ever so it’s going on my list. I’ll still not own these though as I find the shape awkward.

5. Air Jordan 4 “Military Blue”

I would argue that Jordan 4s go under the radar in comparison to Jordan 1 Highs, and Lows (for some reason). These, like all others, are clean but effective in their design without standing out too much and will continue to be an eye-catcher as you walk down the street.

6. Nike Air Max Plus Drift “Football Grey/Aquarius Blue”

I think that the Air Max Plus shoe goes under the radar in relation to other Nike shoes because it hasn’t been used in collaborations to the same degree as other shoes at Nike. Regardless it makes for an interesting and alternate design that I’m likely to never have the pleasure of owning. The classic Nike air bubbles in the sole combined with the 6'4 stature I already possess would result in having to duck through every door I’m faced with.

7. Nike Dunk Low Next Nature “Football Grey”

Not much to say about these which might make you wonder why they’re on my list. I essentially wanted to highlight again the sheer volume of Dunks already released and how similar they are. It’s hard to believe that these have not been released prior to 2024. I feel like I’ve seen these many times before.

8. Air Jordan 1 High OG “Green Glow”

Can’t go wrong with a Retro Jordan 1 and you won’t with these either. Like the Dunks, we’re getting every colour combined with the classic white and black, but at a much slower rate it would seem.

9. Nike Dunk Low “Phantom”

I like these purely because they are called “Phantom” a name I would associate with mystery, the status of a Rolls Royce, and the Opera. However, they are light, breezy, and therefore almost entirely the opposite of what I’d consider something named “Phantom” to be. For that reason, they go on my list.

1O. Nike Dunk Low “Phantom/Khaki”

I’m drawn to these on the grounds that they’re very nearly pointless should you own the ‘Phantoms’ we talked about above. Therefore they play on fact the popularity of Nike Dunk has no boundaries, but their design department could be approaching it. Given the rate of which Dunks are released (this is far from the last pair on this list) I would predict we can see more of this approach to Dunk design in the future.

10. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “MX Rock”

While Kanye West may be an interesting gentleman these days and wearing his Yeezy’s can test your morals in 2024. Yeezy 350 V2s are still popular. They certainly don’t hold the same hype as their glory days in 2017–18 (They have Mr West to blame for that) but the shoe does still have an aura about it which personally I think will fade away now that they are so accessible. Once again due to the image Kanye West now holds.

11. Kith X New Balance 1906R “White/Blue”

New Balance has really capitalised on the rising popularity of the ‘dad shoe’ since they were rather unknowingly the originators of what a dad shoe is. While I personally much prefer the New Balance 2002R I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shoe collaboration with Kith that wasn’t eye-catching and re-sold for a nice profit. That fact remains.

12. Nike Dunk Low WMNS “Light Bone/Dark Stucco”

For this dunk, I would like to draw your attention to the abbreviation ‘WMNS’ and the importance of knowing what this means in a foreign language should you be looking to buy them. I recently found myself in Toulouse, France and looking to purchase these trainers from several different shops in a UK11 or 12 (EU46–47). What followed was much confusion and a time-consuming language barrier as I struggled to come to terms with how no shop in the entire city seemed to stock the larger men’s sizes. It was only some considerable time after I came to realise that WMNS is short for women’s and would like to apologise to every shopkeeper in Toulouse for their time and their now justifiable awkward looks at me.

13. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Steel Grey’

To make an observation about Adidas Yeezy’s that doesn’t include Kanye West and his history, you would have to point out their ability to make relatively boring colours interesting. I think it is down to how obscure the overall shape is, and how iconic that has become. If you notice a stranger’s shoes before their eyes (as I’m not afraid to admit I sometimes do) then you’ll always notice a Yeezy of any kind from a mile away.

14. BAPE x Adidas Stan Smith “ABC CAMO”

Bape and Stan Smith are two of the most recogniseable brands in their own unique ways. Putting that famous Bape pattern over a Stan Smith sillhouette was always going to look awesome. Nothing else needs to be said.

15. Air Jordan 3 Retro Craft “Ivory”

Jordan 3s are a lot like when an actor from your favourite TV show as a child appears on another show today. I know I’ve seen them before and will now spend the rest of my day trying to remember why they’re such a core memory of mine. As for the Ivory edition, they’re understated which is a term that can be rarely used when discussing Jordans. At the end of the day, people who wear Jordans do so for other people to notice. Those who are a collector and that is not their first intention? Those people wear Jordan 3s.

16. Nike Air Max Plus OG “Voltage Party” 2024

From one paid of understated Nikes to a juxtaposing pair. I think the Voltages are designed for those who are vertically challenged collectors and want people to know about it. If you need a couple of extra inches while eluding everybody to it in the process, I recommend all Air Max Plus’ and especially the Voltages’.

17. Nike Dunk Low “Reverse Curry”

I like these for no other reason other than their name. Are they called the ‘Reverse Curry’ as a swipe at the basketball player? Steph Curry famously left Nike in 2013 after an allegedly terrible meeting with the company and went on to become one of the best shooters ever while using Underarmour shoes. Or, are they called Curry for the food? In which case the colour is wrong in my opinion. I guess we’ll never know.

18. Nike Dunk Low “Black and Anthacite” WMNS

I don’t have much to say on this version of the Dunk other than please believe me when I say these look much better in person.

19. New Balance 1906R “Lunar New Year”

Sneakers that commemorate the Chinese New Year are always awesome, or way over the top. These are the former and a successful outthe box approach to make the current ‘dad shoe’ trend. which has New Balance at its core, somehow even more awesome. Top marks to New Balance, these are both wicked and very cool.

20. Nike Dunk Low GS “Year of the Dragon”

Speaking of the Chinese New Year as you can see, these “Year of the Dragon” Dunks are on the slightly wackier side of things. They most importantly appeal to my inner 8 year-old for obvious reasons. For that reason, I’d like a pair. I don’t even think I would wear them, they’re just wicked.

21. Nike Dunk Low “Pacific Moss”

It’s been almost 5 seconds since I talked about a dunk so here is another pair. I like these a lot but then again I once wore a t-shirt on a night out in that colour and was told I looked like a ‘massive turd’. Therefore I’ll refrain from owning these until I have new friends.

22. Nike Dunk Low “University Gold”

As above but in yellow. I can’t speak for the public but I’m personally amazed that I can look at the same style of sneaker this many times and not get bored. I don’t think the Dunk will ever die, its popularity is just too large. They’ll simply keep discovering new colour combinations until the end of time.

23. Air Jordan 1 High “Yellow Ochre”

I honestly only picked these Jordans as I got distracted looking at the Dunks above. Nevertheless, for those of you with a sneaker collection that takes up an entire room, and those of us who intend to have that problem in the future, these will catch your eye without fail as you walk in the room as you then walk straight past and select a some Dunks.

24. Air Jordan 4 “Oxidised Green”

I too thought for a minute that I’d already written about this pair of Jordan 1s above. However, once you notice it, the green, despite being darker, stands out far more than the blue and I believe makes the entire shoe far more sophisticated and almost more mature. Either that or I’ve written 23 shoe descriptions before this and have no more ideas. Regardless I think I’d own these.

25. Lionel Messi X Adidas Gazelle “Crystal Sand/Core Black”

10 years ago and with far less knowledge or interest in sneakers, I’d have read that Lionel Messi has his own sneakers, got very excited, and then been shot down just as fast when discovering they’re beige and black. Now however I’m drawn to the fact that the GOAT of football has collaborated with a Gazelle shoe. The trainer we associate with football, and the choice of footwear for almost every individual sat in the stands at 3pm on a Saturday. The Gazelle is as much a part of football heritage in the UK as 2-footed tackles and the art of 4–4–2. if you understand that culture then adding the name Lionel Messi into the picture, then you can almost laugh. He’ll never be in the away end of Stoke on a Tuesday night. But now part of his legacy will have.

26. Star Wars X Nanzuka X Adidas Superstar XLG “R2-D2 and 3CPO”

Last but not least (least is one of those 17 pairs of Dunks) it’s a shoe that hasn’t been relevant since 2017 but is now thanks to the Empire. Despite their obvious drop in popularity, the superstar should come back into the minds of collectors from two different worlds thanks to the fact that the Star Wars hype will never die. They have a picture os R2-D2 and 3CPO on them and that’s awesome.

To make an obvious observation here, it has been a strong year for Dunk’s. Although as Nike’s best-selling shoe, it comes as no surprise they are being pumped out at an alarming rate and continue to make me wonder when they’ll run out of both colour combinations and ideas. It would appear that may be the case for Jordan’s with basic additions becoming a rare occasion this year and collaborations which have been intentionally left off this list as much as possible, becoming more common due to the hype and anticipation they provide. With that being said there are still 6 months to go in 2024, and plenty more opportunities to empty our bank accounts.