The first two drops featured sleeker designs paired with classic color schemes such as "Neon" and "Varsity Royal." But this new pair takes a new textural design route.

It's hard to tell what's happening with the new "Black/University Red" pairs, but whatever it is, it works.

Essentially, the Air Max Joga Bonito sneaker features dark, velvety-textured underlays, sheer paneling, and other sheeny touches. Nike has also sprinkled in some hot red accents, mostly highlighting the Air soles and branding moments.

Of course, it's still an Air Max 95 soccer sneaker hybrid at heart. Fans can count on the Mercurial-style upper plus the Air Max's famously chunky soles. It's just experimenting with a new plush-looking outfit.

Nike's Air Max Joga Bonito "Black/University Red" sneakers are expected to release on the brand's website on September 3. The retail price? Just $180 for the "velvet" soccer crossover.

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The newest Air Force 1 Low sneakers feature brownish genuine leather uppers with a vintage-style and almost candy-like finish. Meanwhile, the shoes come laced up with these fuzzy orange shoelaces, which add some textural and color contrast.

These are clearly not your average Air Force 1s. But it is a tasty reminder that the model is iconic for a reason.

For those who may have forgotten, Nike has posted some small reminders, like "all time favorite" and "heavy rotation mix," on the sneakers' insoles and tongues.

It also features "Air Soul" branding moments, suggesting it not only has its signature thick Air soles but also plenty of personality. We knew that, but again Nike's just here to remind the world.

Retailing for $125, the "Black/Cinnamon" sneakers are expected to release on Nike's website very soon. It'll soon join other models like the Air Force 1 '01 and the sweet Nike SB collaboration.

I can't say it's a big year for the AF1 because every year is a major one when you're a world-famous sneaker.

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The primary attraction here is the design’s balance between heavy-duty lifestyle and archival detailing. In giving the Premium treatment to the enlarged Big Bubble model, Nike upgrades the classic side panels with elevated textures. 

Rather than sticking to standard mesh and synthetic leather, the pair layers dark, multi-textured materials across the upper. The pitch-black foundation is highlighted by classic Volt pops, a nod to Nike’s signature high-vis colorway originally made famous on the OG 1995 release.

The upper features a rich black layered construction across its sweeping side ribs. Volt neon hits highlight the tongue patch and Air Max windows, bringing life to the dark chassis.

The shoe features the re-engineered Big Bubble midsole housing enlarged visible Max Air units in the forefoot and heel. Our favorite feature of all, though, is that everything sits atop a classic gum rubber outsole.

The Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble Premium in "Black/Gum/Volt" is a masterclass in modernizing an icon. It’s got nods to the OG colorway, retro hits in the gum outsole, and also a mix of premium fabrics that raise the bar.

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What sets this pair apart from the sea of Mary Jane sneakers is its commitment to a more high-fashion look. Instead of leaning into performance aesthetics or tech-runner overlays, the design strips away the padded collar, tongue portrait, and contrast heel tabs, leaving behind a sleek, open-top silhouette. 

Crafted from ultra-soft, premium black leather, it feels much closer to luxury ballet flats seen on Parisian runways than a typical street-style sneaker.

The upper is constructed from smooth, rich black leather that forms an ultra-low, streamlined profile. Perforated 3-Stripes subtly frame the side panels, while an adjustable velcro strap secures the open instep for a delicate, foot-hugging fit.

The classic Stan Smith sole is stripped down to a barely-there rubber iteration. The minimalist sole unit keeps the foot close to the ground, maintaining a light, graceful feel that actually mirrors true ballet footwear.

While we are surely either already at the peak, or perhaps even moving past it in terms of interest in ballet hybrids, the adidas Stan Smith Lo Ballet is definitely one of the better executions yet. It leans further into everyday styling than trying too hard to retain its sneaker DNA.

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Once again, the German sportswear brand is reinventing a classic model, this time it’s all about subtle versatility. In a soft black colorway, at first glance, this could easily be mistaken for the iconic black-and-white leather version that’s been incredibly overplayed. But that’s precisely what makes this iteration work, it’s familiar without feeling quite so obvious.

Now that the Samba hype has died down, the silhouette has become one of the most wearable sneakers around. As styles get simpler, an understated late-summer sneaker is exactly what everyone’s wishlist needs.

Like all great understated sneakers, the devil is in the detail. From the cracked leather heel tab to the jagged Three Stripes, there’s an edgy quality to this icon. An off-white tongue adds another subtle contrast, keeping the overall look understated without feeling too plain.

The light Three Stripes also carry the vibe of the Wales Bonner collaborations, leaning into the strengths of the iconic silhouette and its versatility. With so many styles and collaborations in the mix, sometimes adidas knows exactly how to lean into a classic and let great design speak for itself.

With so many staples on the market, sometimes a subtle, versatile sneaker is exactly what you need for the seasonal transition. Simple, clean, and premium, adidas is back with another take on a classic.

Whether you’re looking for a replacement for your summer staple or simply can’t beat a classic, the cracked leather Samba OG has all the makings of a reimagined icon, with subtle nods to familiar favourites. Simply put, at an easy $110, this is one to keep an eye on when it drops August 22.

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Enter the Rejuven8 Run. 

Originally a recovery shoe, this latest version looks less like something you’d pull on after a run and more like something you’d spot on the feet of someone who somehow makes airport dressing look cool. The Dark Field Brown, Bright Ceramic, and Bright Cactus colorway certainly helps.

The real trick, though, is the construction. There’s an odd cage-like outer shell wrapped around two removable inner booties, meaning you can wear the whole thing, ditch the shell, or mix it up depending on how much sneaker you’re feeling that day.

Nike says the booties can even be worn on their own, because apparently one shoe wasn’t enough.

Underneath all that oddness is some serious comfort, with Air cushioning, ventilation holes, and a grippy rubber outsole. So yes, it’s technically a recovery shoe. But it’s also proof that comfort doesn’t have to look boring.

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The collab features an adidas Superstar Square Ballet, essentially the square-toe Superstar sneaker remixed into a leather ballet model. It even has the Superstar's signature rubber soles and iconic shell toes, but they're slightly tweaked to meet ballerina standards.

Perhaps the neatest detail is the square toe box. Most of adidas' ballet sneakers have featured slim rounded toes. But JENNIE's spin, which also has a stretchy strap and cute bow, genuinely leans into the more traditional pointe shoe look.

Dare I say, the BLACKPINK star made the most en-pointe adidas sneaker of them all.

JENNIE has worked with adidas as a brand ambassador since 2018. She even appeared in 2025's massive Superstar campaign, which also starred Samuel L. Jackson and Kendall Jenner.

As the princess of the balletcore craze, JENNIE has worn plenty of ballerina-worthy outfits as well as adidas ballet shoes, including the CLOT and Caroline Hu's Taekwondo Mei collab and the Anfu Mary Jane.

So, really, it's no surprise that her first adidas shoe is a ballet model. Everything, including her cutesy fashion tastes and Three Stripes ballet rotation, has led to this very moment.

Speaking of which, JENNIE's adidas Superstar Square Ballet sneaker is expected to drop on September 1 on the brand's website. It'll land in black and white colorways.

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And the grail of grails was a BEAMS Arc'teryx jacket.

Anyone can buy an Arc'teryx jacket. But only the plugged-in few could buy BEAMS' ultra-rare "patchwork" Arc'teryx jackets, whose mashed-up color-blocking became a boiling-hot commodity even as outdoor gear got so gentrified that even the world's largest luxury houses began tapping in. (remember Gucci x The North Face?)

BEAMS knows good taste, as I well know. And that extends to even its non-Arc'teryx outdoor gear.

The Japanese mega-retailer's longstanding partnership with performance label Wild Things is little-known outside of Japan but perhaps this latest edition will shake some things up.

BEAMS has remixed the Wild Things Denali Mountain Parka into something kinda close to its much-loved Arc'teryx outerwear. Two iterations wear slightly off but similar monochrome shades that offset the Wild Things parka's militaristic form into something a little louder. It's simple, sure, and nowhere near as wild as the high-contrast Arc'teryx jackets but BEAMS has been doing subtler stuff for several seasons now so this is of a piece.

Wild Things is a 45-year-old tactical outfitter created by New Hampshire mountaineers that went on to become a widely respected outdoor imprint and, eventually, an actual military supplier. In Japan, it's pretty much just adventure-leaning streetwear. Not that Wild Things Japan doesn't back up its aesthetics with actual utility. It's just far more fun than its station might imply.

And, no, BEAMS' Wild Things collabs ain't gonna surpass its Arc'teryx team-ups. The Arc jackets are just too perfect. But the Wild Things jacket ain't no slouch. If nothing else, it's a convincing argument for looking beyond the most obvious product to find the great stuff that comes after.

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The collaborative model features smooth suede uppers, dressed in various colors like teal, purple, and brown. It's all inspired by the natural scenes of the Pacific Northwest at sunset.

There's even a wavy-patterned "N" logo nodding to the lakes' reflections. Meanwhile, a Bigfoot graphic strikes the heel and tongue, feeding into the lore of the mythical hairy creature said to lurk in the area.

The mystery may remain about the Sasquatch, but these New Balance 480 sneakers are the real deal.

It's another nice one for the 480 collection, which includes classic all-black options and tasty collabs with Chocolate Skateboards. This time, the Dunk-style model, originally a basketball sneaker, is soaking up views of the Pacific Northwest. Literally.

35th North's New Balance Numeric 480 sneaker is scheduled to release at select stores on August 28, followed by a drop on New Balance's website on August 31.

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Similar to those previous "Light Army" Forces, the Air Jordan 4 Retro sneaker goes tonal, with the familiar faded army green covering everything from the Air-supported soles to the luxe suede upper.

There are some lighter green touches, but they only make the model fresher with their minty flavoring.

The Jordan 4 joins the "Light Army" boot camp alongside other cadets such as the Field General and even the '01 Air Force 1s. Other Jordans have worn the color, but not on the same scale as the tonal AJ4s.

Sadly, they may be exclusive to European stores. But nothing is confirmed yet. There's still a chance this nice pairs could get a wider release on Nike's website.

But just in case, those interested in the "Light Army" 4s may want to start looking into overseas travel plans.

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The brand's next set of Air Forces features cracked leather uppers, resulting in a scaly yet classic look for the world-famous model.

Nike has applied cracked leather to its Air Jordans and even Christmas-themed Dunks in the past, with each evoking a sense of nostalgia. And that's kind of the point of the newest Air Force 1s.

I forgot to mention that it also features a 2001 Air Force 1 build, which includes a lower profile and extra padding. Combined with cracked leather, it's pretty much the closest thing to a genuine Air Force 1 from the early 2000s.

Think about it. Over 20 years later, the leather shoes would probably be nice and creased by now, worn or not.

The cracked leather Air Force 1s first appeared in Nike's latest SNKRS Verified episode, alongside the Air Bakin and a "Bright Crimson" First Sight Noir. The shoes came in green and black colorways.

They're both expected to drop sometime in the fall on Nike's website. However, with official imagery already here, we might catch them sooner rather than later.

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These images feel fresh in a way other brands’ attempts to wind back the clock a few decades just don’t. That’s because this isn’t just another photoshoot with self-serious hikers geared up in the most hypermodern technicalwear innovations à la The North Face or Arc'teryx.

Instead, this cohort of Gramicci-clad young people — Grammers? Gramiccers? — are bungee jumping, scaling cliffs, mountain biking, and pitching tents in clothes that look accessible. There’s no encyclopedic fabric knowledge needed here, nor any understanding of what a “hydrophilic membrane” is. The clothes in this collection are simply Graimicci — signature elastic belted waistbands on the pants, brushed flannel shirts inspired by classic workwear silhouettes. In other words, clothes that would look just as at home in your closet as in your parents’.

That’s as refreshing as a mountain stream for me, given that I’ve been put off on planning camping trips because I don’t have thousands to spend on super high-end hiking gear I see swirling around social media. 

Gramicci might also swing luxury on occasion with a collaborative release, something like its climbing pants made with Loro Piana Super 130's wool or its Japan-only twist pants, but these ventures are outliers to its core product.   

This FW26 campaign is literally the “not a cell phone in sight. just ppl living in the moment” meme come to life. And while that’s befitting our increasingly anti-tech cultural climate, it also feels authentically aligned with the brand itself.

For those not in on the lore, Gramicci was founded in the ‘80s by a mountain-scaling Californian who created more functional climbing pants by inserting a gusset into the crotch. This odd American outdoor brand with the Italian name, now based in Japan, has kept its core spirit alive: producing functional, unfussy clothes to help you move effortlessly through the outdoors (without making you look like you’ve just walked out of a techwear meme account).

What a concept.

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Culture has always thrived in New York. Music, fashion, and competition converge in this colorful epicenter. And it’s not news that NYC has always been a hub for hoops. The city where dreamers bring their aspirations to fruition —and once actualized, they see the potential to dream even bigger. That desire to reach the top echoes the mindset of one of the game’s greats, Michael Jordan—an ethos the Jordan brand continues to uphold today. 

Building on that heritage, the Jumpman label brought the Jordan Design Studio to New York, a global workshop and mentorship program created to inspire blossoming creatives to turn their dreams into tangible reality. 

Previously hosted in LA and Chicago, the incubator finally landed in the city that never sleeps in search of those at the top of their game. Inviting in eight creatives who are defined by the city’s signature grit, Jordan Brand tasked each designer with reimagining the famed Air Jordan 1. The challenge wasn’t about totally reinventing a classic, but rather about tapping into their own distinct voices and projecting them onto the canvas of one of the most iconic sneakers in history.

Led by Awake NY’s founder and bona fide New Yorker, Angelo Baque, along with members of Jordan’s in-house design team, the mentees diligently worked over three days to transform their carte-blanche basketball sneakers into expressions of their distinct aesthetics. The experience gave all the crafters valuable lessons they can carry long after the workshop concludes, but only one design emerged on top.

From each design incubator, eight finalists will be carefully selected — each honored for their willingness to push the envelope, innovation, and attention to detail. One victorious design will be chosen at the global finale in Shanghai, and it will join the other famed Air Jordan silhouettes in an iconic lineup. 

Read more about each NYC participant below. 

Name: Alaia Ryan - Winner

Creative Discipline: Fashion Design 

Alaïa Ryan is a triple-threat designer, stylist, and founder. Her brand, Nayr Studio, is known for its signature heart-shaped bags and bold, textured materials. She manages the small-batch production process directly in NYC and often steps into the role of muse, styling and modeling her own pieces in her own unique way. She later plans to expand the brand into ready-to-wear, growing her universe. 

Name: Sim + Rivers W2YH

Creative Discipline: Creative Direction, Modeling, Storytelling

Sim and Rivers are a dynamic duo who both share a love for archival fashion and creation. Sim From The Hill is a curator from Sugar Hill, Harlem — a career that stemmed from self-published zines rooted in heritage. Now, his resume includes model, creative director, and cultural programmer. He launched W2YH, a clothing brand, as well as his own production agency, Poppin’ Overseas. Rivers is similarly interdisciplinary, wearing many hats as a cultural archivist, a model, and a next-generation storyteller. He documents the stories of the next generation through his unique cultural perspective and brings that inventive outlook to his updated Jordan sneaker design.

Name: Julian Michel Eversley

Creative Discipline: Product Design 

Julian Michel Eversley currently resides in Harlem, but he is of Bajan, Haitian, and Native American descent. Through skateboarding, he found a love for design, as the sport merges so many different subcultures. He has trained as an industrial/product designer and is also a self-taught cobbler — so he definitely knows his way around shoe design. 

Name: Iman Abdul-Rassoul

Creative Discipline: Fashion and Textile Design 

Iman Abdul-Rassoul wears many hats as a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and community organizer. Her parents immigrated from Puerto Rico and Lebanon, so she often pulls inspiration from the visual universes of the MENA region, the Caribbean, and New York City, yielding work rooted in cultural legacy. She is the founder and director of Opiyel, a brand that lies at the intersection of fashion, textiles, and contemporary design. 

Name: THIIIRD

Creative Discipline: Painting and Fashion Design 

Robert Owasu infuses his cultural upbringing into all his work. He is New York-based, but his Ghanaian-American roots guide his outlook and storytelling. The multidisciplinary artist allows a referential ideology to inform his pieces and brought this multicultural framework to his custom AJ1 design.

Name: JJ Grant

Creative Discipline: Visual Arts and Fashion Design 

JJ Grant roots her work in Black and Puerto Rican heritage, calling upon her community to inform her wearable designs. She’s not only a designer but also an artist, as well as the founder and creative director of JJGRANT. Through all of these mediums, she honors the communities she grew up in by preserving memory and inspiring boundless creation. Through her youth-centered creative platform, I SEE ME, she uses art and storytelling to build self-assurance in burgeoning tastemakers and to help them further understand their identities.

Name: Yeddifer 

Creative Discipline: Sculpture and Design 

Yeddifer Fermin is an artist who seeks to defy the typical boundaries of sculpture, installation, and design. Known as THE FERM, the NYC-based creative builds entire universes around her projects, inviting audiences to step into these elaborate worlds. Tapping into the emotional side of art, nostalgia fuels most of her work and inspired her recent installation, The Reach.

Name: Justin Blanco

Creative Discipline: Industrial Design 

Justin Blanco has cultivated a thriving career as a product designer and consultant, helping bring concepts to life with brands like adidas, Red Bull, Hennessy, and more. With more than 15 years of professional and independent design experience, he created his own brand concept: New York Penn. Through his personal brand, Blanco focuses on storytelling through a distinctly New York lens, bringing that original perspective and grit to his custom AJ1 design. 

Stay tuned for more from the Jordan Design Studio circuit.

“I love modeling. I love fashion. But I felt quite unfulfilled by being the canvas all the time,” Judge, now 24, tells Highsnobiety. “I had the talk with myself of, ‘What is the thing that would make me feel fulfilled if I got to wake up and do it every day for the rest of my life?’ And for me, it really clearly felt like music.”

Another model making beats because their agent told them to? Far from it. Besides that line of thinking being a tired write-off in the age of the multihyphenate, Judge is very much true to this, not new to this. At 18, she aged out of her longtime youth choir after a decade spent training in jazz and opera. Trying to figure out what to do with her life, she dropped out of college to find her fortune in NYC. “I got signed to a [modeling] agency pretty quickly after, so there was never any crossover” with music, she explains. 

“I feel like now is the first time in my life where [fashion and music] are intertwining, and it's very interesting to see how they do so.”

One instance of said overlap: Judge styled the music video for her new track, “Overdrive,” on top of directing it. Costuming the video’s male actors was a challenge for her, she recalls. “I went to Jet Rag, which is a thrift store in L.A., and I never dress men, obviously, because I’m a woman…so I was so terrified putting these looks together.” Thankfully, the thrifting gods were on her side. She found exactly the yesteryear blazers and shirts she needed to craft “swaggy, eclectic” looks with a retro spin—think the Jazz Age if it took place in Malibu, where the video was shot.

Judge herself is a Monroe-esque vision in a white Yana Matkivski midi dress, her signature platinum locks spun into an artful updo. She sings over chopped-up drums about a lover that’s made her feel crazy, sending her into overdrive. Only her third single to date, “Overdrive” is lighter, lyrically, than its heartbreak-laced predecessors—“Infatuation” and “Wouldn’t You Like To Know.” It’s also the one she felt most ready to write; she describes the words coming to her unusually fast during a studio session with producer RØMANS.

“I love things that feel like they've always existed, and this song just felt like it always has existed, and it was just in the clouds, waiting for a place to land,” she shares.

Judge’s music marries the rich vocals of Amy Winehouse (one of her earliest muses) with the vintage-inspired feel of Olivia Dean. Her warm delivery and soulful sensibilities hint at a beyond-her-years sonic blueprint—it’s no surprise her parents raised her on ‘Jazz for Kids’ CDs and Ella Fitzgerald. “Overdrive” may have more of a “hip-hop quality to it,” as she describes the track production-wise, but it carries the same sparkling spirit as her first few singles.

With each new release, the clamoring for an album grows a little louder in her comments sections. Judge teases that an LP might come first, once the moment is right. “I'm in the studio almost every day. I'm working almost every day. And I'm excited for when the time comes to put together a longer story for people to tap into, sonically.”

The Bronx brand "fixed up" the low-top Air Max boot for its latest Nike collaboration. The results? The ACG model rolls out of the shop with vintage-style brown leather uppers, ultimately resembling a rusted metal vehicle with loads of charm.

And in addition to an extra set of shoelaces and a hidden zippered pocket on the tongue, the collaborative pairs also come with their own wrench. Just in case your stompers break down.

But given its signature hardy, trail-ready design (extra-chunky Air soles included), I think you'll just be fine.

Treating a Nike boot like a fine ride sounds about right for Taller de Rafa, which translates to "Rafa's Workshop." The label, led by brother-sister duo Rafa and Genesis, makes streetwear infused with workwear and automotive references.

These themes have even shown up in TDR's previous Nike collaborations. For example, the brand hosted a pop-up "auto repair shop" to sell its exclusive Nike soccer gear during the 2026 World Cup festivities.

With fall creeping up, Nike has naturally ramped up its Air Max Goadome Low options. It has since cooked up slightly updated versions and even polka-dot pairs that honestly belong in the COMME des GARÇONS universe.

We've now got this beautiful brown Air Max boot by Taller de Rafa, which is expected to release sometime during the fall season on Nike's website.

It's kind of full circle, too. First, Taller de Rafa helped introduced the Air Max Goadome Low in the winter. Now, the brand has its own.

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