Hailing from New Balance's ever-growing arsenal of flattened dad shoes, the 204L offers a refreshing, slim approach to standard dad-shoe beefiness. It's basically the skim milk version of an elderly stepper.

Fused with the nostalgic aura of a 2000s runner mixed with futuristic chrome paneling, New Balance's 204L sneaker is a mostly mesh gem that turns the phrase "dad bod" on its head. That is to say, this sneaker is categorically slim in a fashion similar to the super skinny 327 or the hairy good 471. 

New Balance might be known for its capital "P" phat dad shoes, but the aged sneaker purveyor is not above slimming things down a little. Or in some cases, a lot. 

Take NB's Miu Miu mule, for example. That shoe is so slim it's missing its entire back half, no Ozempic required.

The new white and chrome New Balance 204L, made in collaboration with atmos and available on the website for $100, is joined by several other colorways, including a dark chocolate milk iteration as well as a couple of cow-printed makes. New Balance is milking the slim sneaker movement for all its worth, and that's a very good thing.

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New Balance's Made in USA 1300 8BH dad shoe is a fresh, citrus-drenched take on NB's brand-new tennis-focused dad shoe. No sneaker release is ever truly complete without an accompanying beverage. 

Just take a look at any number of Match-infused NB dad shoes or mimosa-flavored 990s. If you can't match your drink to your bev, are you even living life?

New Balance's 1300 8BH sneaker, available on the NB website for $205, wears a peachy pink upper that serves as the proverbial sweetened strawberries, while the yellow "N" and heel tab represent the tart lemonade. There are refreshing beverages everywhere for those with the eyes to see them.

As for the material composition, the 1300 8BH follows New Balance's standard code of style ethics with suede paneling, mesh inserts, and leather accents.

When you're rocking such a fresh color palette, you don't really need to reinvent the wheel. After all this is an upgraded take on the OG NB 1300.

And even though it's a slimmer make, New Balance's signature dad shoe charm still shines through.

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The water-ready Premium Authentic 44 Deck sneaker is a yacht-coded sneaker that brings the skatepark to the poop deck. What's more Vans than shredding the seven seas?

Inspired by the deck shoes worn by boat dwellers, this Authentic wears its water wings in the form of frayed rope-esque laces, which give the sneaker its undone disposition. Of course, the navy blue hue is quite aquatic in essence, which adds to the whole buoyant boat vibe soaking through this shoe. 

Keeping in theme with the boat shoe vibe, the Authentic 44 Deck sneaker features a grooved rubber outsole suitable for wet surfaces.

So if you want to pop an ollie while at sea, well, Vans has you more than covered.

Elsewhere, Vans' Authentic 44 Deck sneaker, available on the Vans website for $80, maintains signature Authentic hallmarks, including contrast stitching throughout the upper and a segmented front. The textured suede upper adds a layer of material variation to the otherwise understated shoe.

Now this isn't the first time Vans has taken its thrasher talents to the open waters. In fact, Vans has made quite a few boat shoes in its day, like its tumbled leather 2-Eyelet Boat Shoe or its many textured variants. What makes the Authentic 44 Deck sneaker land as such a big fish in a relatively big pond, though, is the way it maintains Vans' core style principles just with its sea legs.

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God knows there were plenty of options to sift through, seeing as collabs today are a dime a dozen. But following an informal internal pole, we ultimately settled on the styles below... for now. Time will tell if all of them can keep their spot, or if some'll bow out of a year-end's best-of to make room for models yet to come.

But so, without further ado, see here our contenders for best sneaker collabs of 2026 so far, in alphabetical order. To be continued...

The Best Sneaker Collabs of 2026 – As of Now

Cecile Bahnsen x ASICS

"Delicate" isn’t exactly the first word that comes to mind when thinking of performance sneakers, which is precisely why Cecilie Bahnsen’s continued partnership with ASICS works so well. The Danish designer softens the typically techy silhouette with semi-sheer layers and floral cues, landing somewhere between runner and runway. A contrast that, against all odds, keeps proving convincing.

adidas x Yohji Yamamoto

Few partnerships have managed to stay this consistent for this long. Yohji Yamamoto’s work with adidas, under the Y-3 umbrella, continues to revolve around a very specific type of sneaker: slim, elongated, and noticeably more “elegant” than most of its category peers. Only because it hits so hard every time does it get to sit here, amongst more traditionally one-off get-togethers.

Levi's x Air Jordan 3 Retro SP 'Denim Blue'

Denim on sneakers has been done before, not always resulting in greatness. Nike has been experimenting with it since the early 2000s, with in good and... not so good outcomes. What Levi’s brings here is a bit more legitimacy: proper denim, meant to fade, crease, and age like it’s supposed to, for an authentic treatment of texture, not just as a decorative gimmick.

Nike x Jacquemus

Fan or not of Jacquemus’ clothes, there’s a broader consensus that, when it comes to the luxury brand's work with Nike, one cannot deny excellence. The French designer revived the activewear giant's oldest running shoe. That would've been an impressive feat regardless. But it's actually a really good comeback! Merci Simon!

Versace x Onitsuka Tiger

On paper, this is not the most obvious pairing: Versace’s maximalist tendencies meet, or rather clash with, Onitsuka Tiger’s heritage sportswear DNA, and they land somewhere in between bold and restrained. It could’ve gone overboard, but the right elements of both were shed and preserved, respectively, to amount to a beautifully balanced sneaker-slipper hybrid with just enough touches of '80 nostalgia to keep things light and fun.

New Balance x District Vision

New Balance's link-up with District Vision almost feels like a long-overdue joining of shared mindsets rather than a purely product-based collab. The LA-based label approaches running through a more holistic lens, part tech, part mindfulness, which, paired with New Balance’s decades-built foundational expertise in style and performance, results in something really focused.

On x Zendaya

This feels less like a merch-first collaboration and more like a positioning move. On already had the engineering, the comfort, the clean look. Zendaya just helps frame it all differently. For the better.

Puma x Jil Sander

Jil Sander’s take on PUMA taps straight into that ‘90s minimalism everyone seems to be chasing again: straight lines, stripped-back appearance, nothing extra. The difference is, this doesn’t feel like a throwback for the sake of it. It’s closer to the real thing: quiet, precise, and more loyal and disciplined than most of today’s '90s-inspired attempts at fashion.

Diemme x JJJ sound

Diemme and JJJJound meet on common ground: understated design and an appreciation for materiality. The result is a hiking-inspired silhouette that leans more refined than rugged, with earthy tones and minimal branding doing most of the work.

Supreme x Nike

By now, Supreme and Nike SB linking up is hardly a surprise. Still, the formula holds, tapping into skate heritage while introducing just enough variation to keep things moving, or rolling, along into the future. Familiar territory, but one that still resonates, with paths still to trod.

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In the midst of all this hype, Carhartt never changed. The American workwear label continues focusing almost exclusively on outfitting workers with humble, hardworking, affordable gear. And its newest “crafted” range is still all of those things even while it’s also a limited-edition drop made entirely in America. Essentially, it’s the closest thing to an American Carhartt fashion collection. 

(European Carhartt customers are used to these kinds of style-oriented garbs, but more on that later.)

While normal Carhartt is cool without trying to be, this feels knowingly stylish. The Carhartt Crafted Series is a line of vintage reproductions created in collaboration with the brand’s in-house archivists that debuted at the end of last year. Its seasonal drops have thus far spanned 15-ounce denim chore coats, a boxy military-flavored sweatshirt made from Carhartt’s heaviest fleece, and loose double-knee duck cotton pants. Typical Carhartt stuff but made from substantive fabrics informed by archival styles, priced slightly higher, and signed off with a new white and blue Carhartt logo patch and buttons engraved with Carhartt’s original heart logo. 

And the newest range of Crafted classics? They’re the most handsome yet. 

The Crafted Series is taking a look at painters, reproducing 135+-year-old painter bibs in 9-ounce cotton drill, a fabric also utilized for its loose chore coat and straight-legged carpenter pants. All the material is in its undyed milky white state, accented by navy stitching that reinforces every panel and red stitching demarcating button holes. You won’t find these kinds of colorful flourishes on Carhartt’s regular no-nonsense workwear, but here they provide a nice touch of contrast against a beige base. 

It's the kind of fashionable set you’d expect from Carhartt WIP, the younger European spinoff label capitalizing on Carhartt’s fashion fame through streetwear collections and high-end collaborations. But no, this is the real-deal American OG leveling up.

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