Union LA, fragment design, and Jordan Brand Unite in This Week’s Best Footwear Drops
The Seattle Seahawks are your Super Bowl LX champions. While fans continue to celebrate this accomplishment, the West Coast has more action on the way: NBA All-Star Weekend is coming to Los Angeles this week. Footwear brands, including Nike, adidas, ASICS, Jordan Brand, and Crocs, are capitalizing on the moment by preparing a stacked list of sneaker releases to anticipate. Before we dive into all 10 drops, let’s look back at last week’s news, starting with two new footwear features.While in Paris for Fashion Week, we connected with the Louis Vuitton team, including designers Thibo Denis and Mathias Patillon, to discuss the new “LV Tilted” sneaker. We also revisited Nike and Jordan Brand’s “Year of the Horse” collections from 2014, comparing it to this year’s range.As for the traditional news, word of Nike bringing back the Nike Kobe 10 Protro with a “5 AM Flight” colorway surfaced. We also spotted J Balvin at the Super Bowl wearing a new version of his upcoming Air Jordan 4 collab. Meanwhile, Bad Bunny drew the attention of the world with his halftime show performance, in which he wore a new adidas BadBo 1.0 “Resilience” colorway.Elsewhere in the sneaker space, Thom Browne’s runway show included an ASICS GEL-KAYANO 14 collaboration. Meanwhile, Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports has a New Balance AC Runner on the way. For KEEN, it expanded the UNEEK roster with the introduction of the 360 model. Rounding out the week, both JJJJound and Diemme, as well as PUMA and NO/FAITH STUDIOS, previewed upcoming projects together.Now that you’re up to date on the latest and greatest from the footwear industry, let’s look ahead at this week’s list of releases. Make sure you hit up HBX afterwards to see which pairs are available today.fragment design x Nike Book 2Release Date: February 10Release Price: $145 USDWhere to Buy: HBXWhy You Should Cop: Speaking of HBX, it is set to raffle off a new project between Hiroshi Fujiwara and the Swoosh this week. The fragment design x Nike Book 2 is the culmination of several collaborative teasers between fragment and Devin Booker over the years. The Phoenix Suns star’s new signature shoe has been modified with the Swooshes on each side being cut off by the mudguard, as opposed to the typical overlapping. fragment’s logo is stamped at the lateral heel while special text referencing the project is visible at each side of the midsole.adidas Basketball “Backyard Legends” CollectionRelease Date: February 12Release Price: $95 USD to $160 USDWhere to Buy: adidasWhy You Should Cop: adidas Basketball has prepared all four of its latest signature shoes to participate in this year’s “Backyard Legends” collection. Up first, the Anthony Edwards 2 combines an orange base with mint green detailing. For Donovan Mitchell’s D.O.N. Issue #7, a multicolor gradient is present across the upper. Switching to the Dame X, it sees orange combine with black. Rounding out the lineup is James Harden’s new Harden Vol. 10, which sports a sleek silver upper.Syna x Nike Air Force 1 LowRelease Date: February 13Release Price: $130 USDWhere to Buy: SNKRSWhy You Should Cop: At last, Central Cee’s first Nike Air Force 1 Low drop is here. His brand, Syna, has reworked the sneaker with a grayscale palette that features a patent leather upper. A gray base is joined by black overlays and light gray Swooshes. Meanwhile, the Syna logo strikes the lateral heel in white embroidery, matching the graphic at the left shoe’s footbed.atmos x ASICS GEL-KAYANO 12.1 “Raden”Release Date: February 13Release Price: ¥28,600 (approx. $185 USD)Where to Buy: atmosWhy You Should Cop: Two Japanese stalwarts in the sneaker space, atmos and ASICS, are united once again. This time around, the two have taken on the GEL-KAYANO 12.1. The contemporary runner has been prepared under a “Raden” theme that features a design inspired by traditional mother-of-pearl inlay work. This special technique comes to life across the all-black shoe via subtle detailing throughout.Nike Basketball “Warning Label” CollectionRelease Date: February 13Release Price: TBCWhere to Buy: SNKRSWhy You Should Cop: Nike Basketball’s also set to join the fun this NBA All-Star week. Its “Warning Label” collection is comprised of high-shine colorways of the GT Future, GT Cut 4, Ja Morant’s Ja 3, Sabrina Ionescu’s Sabrina 3, Kevin Durant’s KD 18, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Giannis Freak 7, Devin Booker’s Book 2, LeBron James’ LeBron 23, and A’ja Wilson’s A’One. In addition to this, the all-new Kobe 3 Protro Low “Warning Label” is expected to drop alongside the pairs.Willy Chavarria x adidas Harden Vol. 10 & Superstar MetalRelease Date: February 13Release Price: $180 USDWhere to Buy: adidasWhy You Should Cop: In addition to its All-Star collection, adidas has tapped several key collaborators to bring energy to the footwear space. Willy Chavarria, for example, has put together a new take on the Harden Vol. 10 that sees it reimagined with a textured chrome upper. This design is accompanied by Chavarria’s black Superstar Metal, which features a chrome toe, Chavarria branding, and a “Compton Cowboys” callout at the lateral heel.Nike Kobe 6 Protro “All-Star 3D”Release Date: February 13Release Price: $200 USDWhere to Buy: SNKRSWhy You Should Cop: One Nike Kobe drop that is confirmed to be taking place is the return of the Kobe 6 Protro “All-Star 3D.” 15 years after first dropping, the pair is back with Protro technology supporting its every step. Where the theme comes together is the upper, which features the snakeskin-inspired print in a stereoscopic pattern that comes to life when you put on the pair of old-school 3D glasses that are included with the shoe.Union LA x fragment design x Air Jordan 1 High OGRelease Date: February 14Release Price: $205 USDWhere to Buy: Union LAWhy You Should Cop: One of the most anticipated sneaker launches of the entire year is here. Union LA and fragment design each have legendary Air Jordan 1 collabs in their archives. Now, they’ve teamed up with the Jumpman crew to put together even more pairs that blend their signature motifs. Two colorways from the collab are scheduled to release, with “Varsity Red/Sport Royal” and “Black/Royal” both offering Union’s Frankenstein-d collar with fragment’s logo stamp at the lateral heel.Air Jordan 6 “Infrared Salesman” & “Bin 23”Release Date: February 14Release Price: $215 USD to $355 USDWhere to Buy: SNKRSWhy You Should Cop: It’s the 35th anniversary of the Air Jordan 6 and Jordan Brand has plenty of drops featuring the beloved model on the way. Two are set to take place on Saturday, with the beloved “Reverse Infrared” look being remixed into the “Infrared Salesman,” drawing inspiration from a ’99 sample catalog. In addition to this, the “Bin 23” collection is back, this time with a premium leather “Off Noir” composition for the Air Jordan 6 that nods to the Porsche 911 with its red accents. Complementary shoe trees and a dust bag add to the luxe presentation.LEGO x Crocs Brick ClogRelease Date: February 16Release Price: $150 USDWhere to Buy: LEGO and CrocsWhy You Should Cop: Another much-anticipated collaboration is set to drop this week, and it is unlike any other pair on the list. The LEGO x Crocs Brick Clog is in a league of its own. Drawing inspiration from LEGO bricks, the all-red clog is comically oversized. LEGO branding is spotted atop each stud, per usual, and at the co-branded strap. Accompanying each pair is a LEGO minifigure that comes with its own LEGO-sized version of the clog.Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast
