Nike and Adidas have earned their positions in the sneaker culture not by luck. When it comes to marketing and style, both of these athletic footwear companies are at the helm. With an array of consumers to appeal to, Nike has covered their bases. Nike can collaborate with boutiques such as Social Status and Patta, bringing recognition to overlooked sneaker silhouettes like the Air Max Penny or the Air Max One respectively. Now if Nike wants to go a different route, they can collaborate with skate shops like Carpet and Strangelove, which may be the reason why a resurgence in the Nike Sb Dunks has taken place the past three years. If not, Nike can appeal to a whole different audience by collaborating with coveted fashion houses like Comme Des Garçons and Dior. Of course, most of this is not possible without the help of influential figures like Travis Scott (who is currently on his 6th collaboration). Not to mention the late great Virgil Abloh who produced an illustrious list of collaborations named “The Ten”, reimagining beloved classic sneaker silhouettes. More recently, the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force One has been on the top of the list especially as sneaker of the year.

Adidas on the other hand follows somewhat a similar blueprint. The German multinational company can pull from influential artists like Bad Bunny and recreate the Forum Lows. They might tap into Beyonce and have the Ivy Park line. Adidas can go a different route and work with luxury fashion houses like Balenciaga and Gucci, creating their own versions of the Triple S and the Gazelle respectively. More importantly, what Adidas has that Nike doesn’t have (well if we are being honest, had) is the creative powerhouse and fashion designer that is Ye, FKA Kanye West. The introduction of the Yeezy Boost 350 back in 2015 followed by the Yeezy Boost 700 Wave Runner in 2017 and more recently the Foam RNNR proves that the Yeezy brand can be an established brand of its own. Which may be the reason why Ye and Adidas are currently butting heads. Allegedly, Yeezy is producing 68% of Adidas’ sales. Undoubtedly, the days of Nike and Adidas being an athlete-only driven brand is long gone. Creatives, influencers. luxury brands and boutiques have meshed (no pun intended) into the sneaker space. Each collaboration or project made depicts a story any sneakerhead or any aficionado can appreciate.

Now you may be asking yourself what the fuck did I just read? (if you’re new to this, it’s perfectly fine, don’t be ashamed lol). But what I’m getting at is a plethora of reasons. More than providing a snippet of what Nike and Adidas have cultivated within their space in the sneaker culture, collaborating literally everyone (kinda… I mean even Yu-Gi-Oh?). From skaters, fashion elites, athletes walking down the tunnel, to your everyday sneakerhead, who can rock a fresh pair of Air Force Ones or Sambas can be literally anyone. You can be inspired from different styles. You can wear a pair of dunks with some vintage jeans and a satin shirt. Or you can wear those sam dunks with a double-knee work pants, a plain white t and a vest (I’m just freestyling here so please don’t take me seriously).

Naturally as time passes, fashion changes. That’s just how fashion works. Certain styles go outdated and more-so now where everything is so fast paced and accessible. One good thing about this is that the average consumer, actively finds new pieces. In this particular, the consumer finds new sneakers to fall in love with. Because at the end of the day, the consumer’s connection with a product, any product is the main drive.

With that said, I’m sure it’s safe to say the Nike “Panda” Dunk Lows and Yeezy 350’s are becoming monotonous (now let’s be real for a second). Which I get it. That statement alone is insane to say where five years ago both of these styles were either highly-coveted and/or underrated sneakers. But again, with everything being so accessible, everyone is wearing the Panda dunk or a different color variation of the Yeezy 350. In my shoes, (see there I go again) if I were to wear a dunk, I would go for an exclusive color-way, different material or go for the OG model/colorway. That sounds a bit elitist and snotty but that’s just my personal preference. But I’m the firm believer that with personal preference comes style. So what do you do when you want to branch out and try something new? Nike and Adidas are clearly not going anywhere. However, looking at other brands and adding a bit of diversity is never a bad idea. In case you asked, (I don’t think you have but anyways) here’s some other shoe-wear brands to consider.

New Balance

Whenever you think of New Balance, typically you think of a 60 year old dude in an ash grey t-shirt and jorts running errands right? Let me be the one to tell you that you’re not wrong because New Balance makes a really comfortable shoe. However, the Boston-based footwear company has evolved from that pigeonhole. As of late, New Balance is easily becoming the most talked about footwear brand and rightfully so. New Balance is selective when it comes to collaborating with brands. This in my opinion is what makes every project special.

When I was in college, I vaguely remember Kith being one of the few brands to collaborate with New Balance. I do remember the 1600 Daytona coming out and how the color-blocking along with the materials used in the sneaker made that sneaker a must have for me at the time. Unfortunately, as a college student, I didn’t have the opportunity to buy one. A decade later, Kith collaborated with New Balance once again by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 990 model and the 10th anniversary of the Kith brand (I can proudly say am the proud owner of the Daytona 990v3).

Over the years, New Balance has also collaborated with other brands and boutiques like Boston’s own Bodega on the 997S “Better Days” and CNCPTS with the 998 “Grand Tourer”. The heat has always been there but if we talk about the past three years, New Balance is giving competition to Nike and Adidas. From JJJJound’s collaboration, to Salehe Bembury to JoeFreshGoods, these three brands have brought nothing short of heaters. Of course we cannot forget about Aime Leon Dore. After collaborating with New Balance on the 550 (they’ve had multiple projects before this model which I highly recommend), the collab has become a cult classic shown across almost every influencer’s timeline or your casual moodboard page. Because of the hype built around the collaborations (and most of them selling out), Aime Leon Dore’s owner Teddy Santis has been appointed as the new creative director of New Balance. The momentum New Balance is picking up is unprecedented but not surprising. What is surprising is how people are considering buying their first pair of New Balances. If that is not an indicator on what New Balance has the potential to be (which I think it is already), I honestly don’t know what is.

ASICS

Another dad-associated shoe (they are really comfortable, believe me), ASICS is primarily known because of the occasional runner. ASICS is actually short for Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, a latin expression for “you should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body”. With that said, the Japanese multinational company is another shoewear company to look out for. My first pair of ASICS I’ve ever bought and owned (my parents bought me a pair when I was younger) are the ASICS GEL DS Trainer x Vienne Westwood and the ASICS Gel Kayano 5 x Awake NY.

In a moment of transparency, the aforementioned Vivienne Westwood’s were not my first pair of choice. I actually wanted the Gel Saga’s because of the subtle details of Vienne Westwoods logo on the heel and the Francois Boucher paintings on the insole and outsole (I’m a sucker for classical paintings). Eventually the pair I got I’ve grown to love mainly because of the bold color accents. The Awake NY pair I’ve also copped out because I wanted the silver and green pair but I just wanted to own a pair in general. The main reason is because of Angelo Baque. He was the former brand director of Supreme who is also the owner of his own brand, Awake NY. As a fellow Ecuadorean, not only was he a brand director of an enormous brand like Supreme, but to make a successful brand as AwakeNY, influences and aspires those who are Ecuadorean and especially other countries where we are represented as much. This alone gives hope to everyone to follow their dreams, especially me.

I remember being in college, there was hype around the Salmon Toe ASICS Gel-Lyte III and Kith collaboration. Again, I wasn’t able to cop one but I’ve always been enamored with the color blocking Ronnie Fieg does. It’s a subtle but highly effective design to pull off on a sneaker. Since then, I’ve seen him collaborate more and more to the point where I lost count (especially with The Palette collab). Nonetheless, other brands have jumped shipped like Denim Tears and their take on the GEL-MC. Ice Studios and JJJJound on the Gel Kayano 14. Hal Studios along with NakedCPh on the GEL-1130 and Kiko Kostadinov (whom also have a long list of collaborations).

The runner-lifestyle brand known for their mesh material and comfortability has brought a whole different definition to the phrase “dad shoe” and I’m pretty sure other people are looking forward to that too.

Salomon

Last but certainly not least is the French sports equipment company, Salomon. Now you may or may of not heard about this brand circulating. You may also ask yourself how is this brand in the conversation? Well, similarly how Asolos and Vazquez were popular back in the early 2000’s for their hiking boots, Salomon is along that same vein. Not only does the French company on hiking boots, skiwear (which was one of the first products they made) but as I mentioned previously, they focus on sports related products like trail running, snowboarding, climbing, etc. Which makes sense as why their most popular model, the XT-6 is light, durable and built for most terrains.

The first pair of Salomon’s I ever bought was actually a couple of months ago. In collaboration with Carhartt, the Shelter CSWP is waterproof with ripstop material making it a perfect shoe for when it rains or snows. I’ve always heard about Salomon and heard it’s a great shoe but none of the colorways really stood out to me enough to buy a pair. That all changed with the most recent model the ACS Pro Advanced. The colorway was one but the model itself was different from anything I’ve ever seen. The ACS stands for Agile Chassis System stabilizes the foot which is the reason why the sneaker is a trail running shoe. After looking at that specific model, the XT-4 and the XT-6 started to grow on me.

Broken Arm was one of the few brands to collaborate with them on the Snowcross. Salomon has been more open in collaborating with other brands like Hidden.NY, Bodega, L’Art de L’ Automobile and even Palace.

These brands are other alternatives when you want to go against the grain. Of course there’s plenty of other footwear brands to choose from like Hoka, ON, Puma, Saucony and more to name. Everything is dependent on what you want to wear. Even if it’s beaten up Air Force Ones. Maybe you don’t want to branch out and prefer sticking with Nike or Adidas which I’m not mad at. If that’s your steez, more power to you. Above all, you should remain true to yourself and what you like because there’s plenty to choose from. With that said, choose wisely. Peace and Love.

What Sneakers Should I Wear Today?

New Balance

ASICS

Anniversary.