Sneaker News 
Here at Sneaker News, we spend most of our work day looking ahead at a constant stream of upcoming releases waiting to pour out into the market. With all that visual stimulation flooding in, it’s pretty impossible not to fall in love at first sight with some of the shoes we cover. While some of us practice more restraint than others when it comes to acting on our impulses, we all have our eyes peeled at all times for our next object of infatuation. In this week’s edition of Staff Insights, our team reveals some of the tempting footwear targets currently on our respective radars.
AARON HOPE
The Air Jordan XIV is right up there in any all-time list for me. I had multiple OG colorways of both mid and low and all of those have now retroed (well, the Carolina pair came out in a mid which was actually an improvement in some people’s eyes). My favorites are still stuck in the archives (please bring the ‘Indiglo’ back, JB), but making good on the seamless all-suede concept that had been floating around in sample form designates the upcoming red joints as a must-have. It’ll be a good second half of the year for the 14 with that ‘Sport Blue’ style also dropping. But those are within range of another dope earlier release in the ‘Light Graphite’, whereas the red suede and carbon fiber midsole are both totally novel for this shoe. I always wanted to see a Bin 23 XIV but this one makes a luxurious statement in its own right.
JOHN KIM
Although I am a big fan of the high-top Kobe 9 Elite, I secretly wished the shoe was a low-top like the previous five Kobe signatures have been. I love how the Elite is so drastically different compared to the LeBron and KD, with the fashionable boot-like silhouette speaking to a completely brand new crowd of people serious about footwear, but a shorter version – even at Chukka height – is much more practical. Well, with Nike unveiling the four HTM colorways of Kobe 9 Elite Low, I’m definitely looking forward to what’s in store for this model.
BRENDAN DUNNE
When I wrote his little piece on Nike Huarache History earlier in the year I ended up feeling pretty stupid for the overall dearth of Huarache stuff in my collection. Ever since then I’ve been scanning eBay on the regular for pick ups and even spent a coupe of foolish minutes contemplating bidding on that OG pair of the “Scream Green” colorway that popped up in my size. Thankfully I avoided that and instead remembered that we had a blurry preview shot back in the tail end of 2013 that promised a return for 2014 – one that I will absolutely be taking part in multiple times over.
Bonus anticipation: missing out on the Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low HTM when they inevitably show up at 21 Mercer without warning and hating myself afterwards.
AARON KR.
Not exactly a heavily coveted release here, but I’ve been lusting over these ever since they started popping up overseas. Aside from just the “Medicine Ball” color tribute, the recently (and quietly) introduced Nike Air Trainer Max 360 2 has everything I look for in a shoe, not to mention something that I normally wouldn’t. I’d consider myself an open-minded purist if such a thing exists, and even though I’m not usually a fan of revamped midsoles on the classics, in this case it really works for me. The Trainer II is one of my all-time favorites and even though it needed no help being a great shoe, the 360 bag really amps up its technical look in a way that somehow doesn’t feel completely out of place on a model from the early ’90s.
I love that they chose to leave that classic chunky outsole piece breaking up the 360 bag rather than going with the full length visible Air look that’s used on so many models these days. I’ll go as far as to say this is one of the coolest Nike tooling designs I’ve ever laid eyes on and I wouldn’t mind seeing that sole show up on some more ’90s Trainer updates so long as they leave the uppers in their original form. Seems it would work very nicely for Max 360 versions of the Trainer 1 and III so here’s to hoping.
JORDAN HAGEDORN
Having had over 15 pairs of original Carmines at one point or another is a huge reason this retro is on my must-have list. Since 2002 I have grabbed original pairs from 1991 on eBay when they have popped up. I was only 6 years old when they first released but the connection I had with the shoe itself in the early 2000s was more than with the early 1990s on-court moments. But, as I fell in love with the game of basketball in the mid 1990’s, I would find pictures of MJ wearing the VI on the court, giving me even more reasons to love this shoe.
This kind of memory is where I can relate to the kids that never saw MJ play and may not know a lot about Tinker, but have life moments and memories tied to specific sneakers. To this day, whenever I hear the word “Carmine” I get nostalgic. I get antsy. My mind wanders to the iconic photos of MJ on the court rocking his icy blue-soled pair with those ankle-high NBA socks.
Of course, like most people who appreciate the OG colors of the best Air Jordans, I was excited when the Carmines released in the Countdown pack in 2008 (along with the first brand new Air Jordan I ever owed – the XVII). So I grabbed two packs. But I was even more pumped when I heard they’d hit again in 2014. As more new photos surface of that fresh blue-tinted sole, I get more and more ready to grab two pair. Dropping 23 years after its original release, I think it’s safe to say the sneaker world shares in my excitement.
PATRICK JOHNSON
With the announcement of the Air Jordan 29 only a few days away, it’d be easy for me to say I’m most excited about what the latest signature would look like, but Jordan Brand has definitely surprised me with the Jordan Future. While we’ve seen the Jumpman dabble with lifestyle silhouettes in the past, they definitely didn’t have people flocking to stores like Jordan Brand’s Terminal 23 to cause an infamous pepper spray incident to grab a pair.
It’s easy to see why they’re so coveted though, thanks to a woven upper that utilizes the form of the Air Jordan 11 while a translucent outsole holds it all together. And even though the Jordan Shine has yet to release, the price tag definitely turned heads in a statement that the brand is serious about taking their influence off the court beyond Retro releases. But will the upcoming colorways, surely to be made more readily available that the initial “Glow” and “Infrared” schemes at initial launch, affect how the sneaker is perceived? I’m excited to find out.
