We go again,

I wrote in length about the high tier exclusive sneakers and design achievements made through collaboration and well endowed effort of building ones own company. That conversation concerned the most celebrated hype at designers and curators that being their own audience.

This blog will be about where the money is really made. The Trainer brands that design their own assets and use their catalog and vault silhouettes in some cases to bring restored ready for 2018 conscious designs. Who knows who put the pen to paper to design these, that’s the point. The unsung heroes, a blog purely about the design and not the people.

As a designer I take product and wearable tech very seriously. The utility of clothes and trainers is so high the market can be filled with whatever but in this list of sneakers we will be exploring the best designed sneakers that are affordable to all and probably sitting in your local stockist and won’t cost an arm and a leg from a reseller.

1) Puma RS-X

When I heard Yassine was taking the helm I wondered what Strategy we were going to get. After attracting the likes of Rihanna I knew Puma was about to do something important. Fast forward, the RS-X the cool kid crep, the one who looks for difference but finds themselves enamoured.

I could see me as an 8 year old seeing these and being captivated by the forms and detailing. Using a foundational tennis silhouette with foam technology to increase balance and comfort in a free way. When in hand you can see the midsole is a composite of different textures giving edge and appeal.

So many more colour ways can be drawn from this and so many more variants in texture composites can be derived from its. Great work.

2) Adidas Falcon

Adidas bought forward something that held nostalgic sentiment in the 90’s. With the dad shoe trend in full effect Adidas saw this as the perfect opportunity to introduce a more masculine silhouette to a woman’s style sneaker.

Hopefully this is the start of something for the way women’s sneakers is perceived in the mid tier sneaker market. I know women to be buying men’s sneakers more often than not maybe the designers are getting something right, with Kylie Jenner behind it there’s no reason why it should be a flop.

3) Vapormax (Technology)

the technological advancement introduced by Nike in 2016 has since been releasing a flurry of adapted classic sneakers adding the vapourmax technology to the AirMax form creating cooler and exquisite silhouettes rivalling the boosts comfort.

I had to add the Vapour-AirMax although the tech was released in 2017 I consider the AirMax series a whole new trainer concept

4) Adidas Yung – 1

Anther one for Adidas with their creative assets they garner so much attention with the mid tier priced concepts, although I consider their deerupt wasn’t the hit they didn’t think it was going to be

I feel the Yung (as well as their Falcon) done them the absolute justice this year, garnering real attention from influencers stylists and the common buyer alike.

5) Fila Disruptors 2

This was a sleeper pick I never expected. Much like Puma it seems Fila has a new team heading the helm because the Disruptors really seemed to come out of nowhere getting no media attention they seemed to just pop on feet at the end of summer.

The sneakers are really taking the Biscuit with the chunky silhouette and ugly motif combined making a pug like trainer seeming to be a hit with college and uni students, easily styled and copped due to the price point. They make the last spot on the list for Everyman sneaker of the year.

That completes the list for what has made 2018 a year of excess and creativity within the sneaker sector. I see it as there’s something here to suit everyone’s style, nothing too out there and nothing to ambition with price point. The creatives within these companies work hard and deserve to be celebrated as much as their celebrity hyped collaborations.

Whatever Moves your dial,

Not Your Typical @nytypical