2021 was a peculiar year in the sneaker world: between new projects and epic comebacks, the first post-lockdown reopenings have given us the opportunity to relish fresh releases just as much as we used to, restoring due focus to the sneaker game. As the new year begins, we’ve drawn up a list of brands and models to keep an eye on in 2022.
The first brand you won’t want to lose sight of in 2022 is, once again, New Balance, which is likely to give us an encore of the excellent results obtained in past years thanks to an impeccable selection of partners and the introduction of a stellar lineup of models from the archives as well as new designs. Amongst the silhouettes which may very well be relaunched in 2022 is the 993, a Made in USA classic which, after some years off the scene, has recently been restyled thanks to exclusive collaborations. The brand also holds high expectations for the 990v3 another fan-favorite whose success in 2021 leads many to believe that it will continue to be a key NB model again this year.
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The discussion regarding Nike is not quite as straightforward. In 2022, the Swoosh will no doubt be required to step up to plate performance-wise: the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics from 2020 to 2021 certainly didn’t help things, and in some cases the opportunity to showcase the launch of more innovative models was missed.
On the other hand, for Nike sportswear, it seems that a tight schedule of important anniversaries and birthdays will be crucial in determining this year’s success. Air Max 97 and Air Foamposite, both released in 1997, will celebrate turning twenty five, and will almost certainly claim the spotlight during Nike’s noteworthy releases. With the drop of two gorgeous colorways created in collaboration with Comme des Garçons, festivities for the Foam are just getting started.
But the most important upcoming birthday is that of Air Force 1. Bruce Kilgore’s creation turns forty this year, an impressive milestone reached by only a few models in sneaker history. For some time Nike has been trying (unsuccessfully) to replicate the epic grandeur seen during the 25th Anniversary celebration of the XXV collection held in 2007. The drops scheduled for its 30th Anniversary in 2012 were for the most part forgettable, and in 2017, events on occasion of its 35th birthday left collectors and aficionados altogether disappointed. Of the various colorways presented that year for the AF100 collection at ComplexCon, only the collaborations with Don C, Travis Scott, Acronym, Clot and Roc-a-Fella made it into stores, while gems like the creations with Stash, Virgil Abloh and DJ Clark Kent never got beyond the sample phase.
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As for adidas, this year marks the conclusion of the bustling Consortium release calendar, presented a few months back to celebrate the EQT line’s thirtieth birthday. In 2022, adidas will focus on the NMB, with the return of certain older models and the official launch of the renovated version of the adidas runner, previewed last summer with an extremely limited F&F edition of just one hundred pairs.
Another field in which adidas is off to a head start is that of 3D Printed Sneakers. 2022 might just be the birth year of a project realized in collaboration with an all-Italian team, RAL7000STUDIO, aka “Mutant ZX”.
Last but not least we’ll be keeping an eye on Kanye West’s sneaker brand, Yeezy. Despite the fact that interest in the brand has dwindled in recent years, Yeezy still continues to break record after record, as it churns out new versions of its own designs, such as the Knit Runner Stone Carbon, and new color schemes for classics like the 350 V2.
