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Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers on the internet and where to copy them. We love the roundup this week. 2022 has definitely exceeded expectations for notable sneaker drops, but as great as the sneaker drops are this year, they’ve all been a bit same. I love the amazing Air Jordans and Dunk Drops as much as the next sneakerhead, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little bored seeing the same shoes constantly rotating in new colors.
This week is a cure for that tendency.
This week, Union LA brings us two new colorways of the Nike Cortez, an understated yet still classic silhouette, while Supreme brings us four new colorways of the Nike Shox Ride 2, along with a refresh of the classic black and white Reebok. IV response for b-ball heads. New Nike Shox and Answer IVs, are we in the year 2000? Say goodbye to dad shoes, we are entering a whole new era.
Let’s dive into this week’s best sneaker drops.
Union LA x Nike Cortez Sesame/Off Black
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a Nike Cortez worth cutting. It’s not that I don’t like the silhouette, it’s the opposite, it was actually my first Nike! The Cortez is so classic, all you need is a white leather pair with red or blue accents and you’re set. And it’s a colorway that Nike always has in stock, like a white and black AF-1. But whenever LA-based streetwear brand and retailer Union teams up with the Swoosh, we pay attention.
Union’s take on the Cortez doesn’t disappoint, even if it rejects classic colorways. Dropping in a warm earthy sesame colourway, which features a clay pink swoosh and patterned upper atop a crater midsole, and a darker Off Black take, with Neptune Green accents and white speckles on the midsole in crater, the Union Cortez features a leather upper with canvas and suede overlays and dual branding.
It might be a departure from the classic Cortez look, but it showcases the design in a unique way that still feels like a tribute to what is arguably LA’s most iconic sneaker.
The Union Nike Cortez is available now for a retail price of $150. Pick it up from Union or aftermarket sites like Flight club.
Adidas Adilette 22 Slide Desert Sand/Magic Lime
It’s sandal season that’s why brands are going HAM on slides and Croc collabs, this week we have the controversial Adilette 22 aka the shoe that Ye raged a few weeks ago posting on his Instagram, “These shoes represent the disrespect people in power owe to talent… This shoe is a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves. To what… we have to agree.
The Adilette 22 is very inspired by Yeezy Supply, it’s undeniable, just look at how it vaguely resembles geography (many Yeezys look like rock formations) and uses neutral color tones. Even his whole “What would slides look like in space?” design concept. feels the whole futuristic vibe of Yeezy Supplies, I’m just a little puzzled as to why Ye is surprised and mad about it.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, Adidas took what was already there and turned it into something new, that’s what the Yeezy 700 did with the dad shoe silhouettes of the 90s. Hell all of hip hop changed many times after the beat of Kanye’s MPC 2000XL on his first set of records we still live in a world wrought by 808 and heartache! Kanye should know that.
The Adilette 22 will never be the Yeezy Slide, but it’s still a pretty cool slide, controversy aside, and it’s selling out fast.
The Adidas Adilette 22 Slide in Desert Sand and Magic Lime is available now for a retail price of $55. Get a pair at Adidas website.
Supreme Nike Shox Ride 2
My editor hates Nike Shox, so allow me to apologize to him for forcing him to endure not one, not two, not three, but four consecutive photos of Supreme-branded Nike Shox. These sneakers are all proof that trends and tastes need to be entirely cyclical, nothing is new, only recycled and recontextualized.
When Nike Shox first came out in 2000, it looked like the future of footwear. As if you wear them, you will run faster and jump higher. People did a lot of dumb crap in the year 2000 era and they were rightly laughed at by a younger generation of millennials who flipped it all off and embraced classic silhouettes and dad shoes , for now looking completely disconnected for not accepting the return of this retro futuristic silhouette.
Nike Shox would never have secured a collaboration with Supreme in 2000, but in 2022, what did you expect? Another AF-1 Supreme? This sneaker features a mesh and leather upper with a DURAPLUSH tongue and molded logo in four colorways.
The Supreme Nike Shox Ride 2 is available now for a retail price of $188. Get a pair via the Supreme online store.
Air Force 1 Mid x Off-White Black/White
Nike has been rolling out Air Force 1 Mids on a regular basis, so it’s no surprise to see the silhouette revisited this week, what’s surprising – and a bit bittersweet – is to see a new pair designed by Virgil Abloh. The Off-White Air Force 1 features a mid-top design with a lightweight, airy mesh upper with an allover wood pattern and a second set of Flywire laces.
The Off-White AF-1 Mid drops in a Black and White colourway, both featuring contrasting spiked outsoles that give the sneaker a kind of post-apocalyptic vibe. Virgil was really aiming for the future with this one.
The Air Force 1 Mid x Off-White Black/White is available now for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair through the Nike SNKRS store or your preferred alternate site.
Nike Air Jordan VI White and University Red
Last week we posted a timeline of the best Air Jordan VIs and now here comes Nike a week later with a new AJ-VI in White and University Red, aka the “Red Oreo” colorway. In truth, it’s not exactly a new colorway, so we can’t blame Nike for not being on our list, the real reason is… in the wider pantheon of Jordan VI colorways, I think this one is just right.
Among the sneakers dropping this week, it’s a go-to cop, but when you start putting it next to your AJ VI UNC, or a Carmine, or an Infrared 23, it looks tame by comparison. And with its white and red colourway and speckled midsole, it looks like it’s trying too hard to recall the AJ III. Either way, there’s still plenty to love here, check out that all-white leather upper, embroidered branding, and that lovely icy outsole!
The Nike Air Jordan VI White and University Red is set to release on June 25th for a retail price of $200. Get a pair via the Nike SNKRS App or alternate sites like GOAT and flight club.
Sneaker Freaker x Atmos x Asics Gel Lyte III Alley Cats
Australian Sneaker Freaker has teamed up with Japanese streetwear brand Atmos and Asics for a new take on the Gel Lyte III that takes inspiration from the stray cats that inhabit the back alleys of Melbourne and Tokyo. The sneaker features a gray faux fur upper with purple paneling and glow-in-the-dark accents on the stripes and laces meant to mimic glowing cat eyes.
The Sneaker Freaker x Atmos x Asics Gel Lyne III Alley Cats will be released on June 24 at Atmos Online Store for a retail price of $138.56. The sneaker will see a wider worldwide release on July 4th.
