2014 was a huge year for sneakers with countless memorable releases having come and gone. The sneaker industry is witnessing massive change and one can see the growing popularity of sneakers in the fashion community running parallel to the continued innovation within the sports/performance sector.
One of the key themes with sneaker design this year has been the development of more lifestyle releases that result from collaborations with varied parties from the streetwear and fashion worlds. In particular Adidas has continued to apply pressure to Nike through it’s established relationships with the likes of Yohji Yamamoto, Rick Owens , Kanye West and Pharrell. The later part of the year saw Nike continue to develop its SP (Special Projects) division with more limited and quickstrike releases that combine higher quality materials along with outside design influence from the likes of Errolson Hugh and Jun Takahashi.
As part of this commitment to the fashion industry, we see prices of certain more ‘luxe’ releases such as the Tisci x Nike Air Force 1 nearly reaching the pricepoint of high fashion designer sneakers. I think this is a good development in the long run as the sneaker giants are able to develop more innovative designs compared to largely apparel designers needing to figure out their own production and technology. It’ll be interesting to see if these trends perpetuate in the near year but in the meantime here is my personal list of the best sneaker releaes of 2014.
Read the the feature after the jump
