Best Sneakers of 2018

We’re still quite fresh into the year, but it’s never too early to take a closer look at the best sneakers of 2018 so far, so you can remain updated 365 days of the year. While we will keep this list updated with the best sneakers of 2018, here is a selection of the best drops of the year (so far), including highlights from Air Jordan, Adidas, Nike and more.

Levi’s x Nike Air Jordan IV

It’s not that first time that these two iconic American companies have linked up, but Levi’s and Nike put their heads together to re-work the Air Jordan IV in January. The mid-top basketball silhouette was re-worked entirely in denim, right down to the shoe’s cage, sole insert and laces. Usually found on the waistband of all Levi’s denim, the classic “Levi Strauss & Co” label appears on the sneaker’s tongue, with a Jumpman logo in place of the Levi’s two horse logo.

COMME des GARÇONS x Nike Air Max 180

Most collaborations can’t survive a single season, but COMME des GARÇONS and Nike have been going hard for literally decades, and it’s a worth taking note any time the two brands come together. Shown on the runway during the SS18 shows at Paris Fashion Week, the vivid Air Max 180 eventually released in a trio of colorways with pink used as the foundation of each sneaker. The sneakers were released exclusively at Dover Street Market as well as select retail partners.

Nike Air Max 98 “Gundam”

After the return of the somewhat mysterious Air Max 98 via a Supreme collaboration in 2016, new colorways started to land in early 2018. The “Gundam” colorawy is a nod to the RX-78-2 from the popular Gundam sci-fi series, featuring a blue and white upper with red details, including a red full-length air unit; a colorway that is perfectly suited to the vintage ’90s silhoeutte.

BVG x adidas Originals EQT 93/17

German transit company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) teamed up with adidas for a very special EQT 93/17 that doubles as a train ticket. Decorated with the Flecktarn-inspired camouflage pattern found throughout Berlin’s U-Bahn train network, the EQT also featured a Jahreskarte (yearly train ticket) on the tongue, which is quite a clever design detail, if you ask us. While the sneaker’s price-tag was around $215 USD, the cost of a yearly ticket in Berlin is substantially more, at around $950 USD.

Nike Air Jordan III “Black Cement”

Other than the original Air Jordan 1, the “Black Cement” III is surely the second most-important sneaker in the Jordan franchise. The first basketball sneaker to feature a visible air bubble, and the first design to feature the now-iconic cement print, Tinker Hatfield’s Jordan III design essentially saved the Air Jordan range, convincing the Chicago Bulls superstar to stay with Nike, instead of departing for adidas.

Virgil Abloh x Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star

While nine of Virgil Abloh’s deconstructed sneaker designs from “The Ten” released last year in 2017, delays with the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star pushed the shoe’s release back until May 12. One of the most compelling and Instagrammable designs from Abloh and Nike, the re-worked Chucks featured a translucent upper, inverted Converse heel badge, “VULCANIZED” branding on the midsole, and asymmetrical toe details showing “LEFT” on the right foot, and vice versa.