JORDAN 5 "FIRE RED" HEATS UP THIS WEEK'S BEST FOOTWEAR DROPS
May is right around the corner, and the world’s biggest footwear brands are starting the new month/sending off April in style with a diverse slate of drops. There’s Air Jordans both classic and new, compelling collaborations, signature hoop shoes and more — but before we dive into the vat of forthcoming footwear, let’s take a brief refresher on last week’s goings-on.
The news around upcoming Nike collaborations was undeniably strong. Cactus Plant Flea Market was one of the Swoosh’s biggest collaborative partners in 2019, a relationship that’s set to continue into 2020 with two fresh Dunks. UNDEFEATED is reportedly working on a trifecta of Air Max 97s, and Stüssy has readied a black and gray take on its Air Zoom Spiridon Cage 2, adding further to the roster of its early “shoe of the year” contender. That wasn’t the only Stüssy Spiridon news though. We were also given an on-foot look at the Spiridon KK, a laceless shoe that adds the Nike Air Kukini’s signature upper cage for a hybrid build.
Jordan Brand made some noise with several Air Jordan 1s, ranging from the luxurious “Satin Snake” to the sporty “Game Royal,” the latter of which is an update on a popular style from February 2018. Rare PEs continue to be turned into accessible GRs, with early rumors swirling that the Air Jordan 5 “Oregon” would release this fall.
Virgil Abloh and Kanye West had their standard moments in the spotligh toot. Abloh offered a rare look at the process behind his design-work by revealing the first-ever Off-White™ x Air Jordan 1 sample. Meanwhile, West’s omnipresent YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 popped up in new “Asriel” and “Israfil” colorways. West’s YEEZY cohort Jon Wexler also sat down for the first installment of adidas’s new “Creator Class,” and partook in an exclusive Q&A session for HYPEBEAST as well.
On the sports front, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brand-new Nike Zoom Freak 2 was unveiled, offering a striking departure from his first model. Reebok and Nice Kicks got into the action with a special Question “Bubba Chuck,” inspired by Allen Iverson’s love of fishing. Moving from the hardwood to the gridiron, Nike Football whipped up special NFL Draft footwear for some of its newest team members like #1 overall pick Joe Burrow. Lastly, the COVID-19 coronavirus continued to exact a steep toll on businesses: adidas’s Q1 sales fell 19% from last year, and StockX was forced to lay off 12% of its workforce.
Now that you’re caught up, take a look at a hand-selected list of this week’s dozen best releases below. Head over to our Drops page to see more, and — as always — please note that some releases may well be pushed bac due to COVID-19’s adverse impact.
