Nike may have just lost one of its all-time top men’s tennis players to retirement, but it looks like the brand has big plans for the sport in the new year. In addition to a full-fledged retro push of Andre Agassi’s 1990s signature line, a new performance model is on the way, and it’s borrowing some aesthetic inspiration from a basketball classic.

Images of the all-new Nike Hypersmash recently hit the internet. The low-top tennis silhouette takes some clear inspiration from the Nike Hyperdunk basketball model, which was originally released in 2008 and was famously worn by Kobe Bryant. 

The late NBA legend wore the “United We Rise” Hyperdunk while playing as a member of Team USA during the 2008 Olympics. Its launch came in-between the Kobe 3 and the Kobe 4 and offered a first glimpse at a new Nike tech known as Flywire that would define many of the era’s performance shoes.

Inspired by suspension cables on bridges, Flywire tech used lightweight-yet-durable Vectran filaments to support the wearer’s foot. In addition to the Hyperdunk, Flywire was prominently featured on models such as the Kobe 4, Kobe 5, LeBron 7, and LeBron 8. 

Now, it looks like Flywire’s legacy will live on in the upcoming Nike Hypersmash. Based on the early images, the model essentially appears to be a low-cut version of the Hyperdunk with changes to make it suitable for tennis performance. Modifications include a reinforced toe box, exposed mesh for breathability and added lateral support from a TPU cage that extends from the midsole. 

Beyond sport, the Hyperdunk’s history includes a special pair that was created exclusively for the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Despite the pending arrival of the Nike Hypersmash, there’s no word on a Hyperdunk retro. The “United We Rise” colorway was last rereleased in 2016.

The Nike Hypersmash is expected to debut during spring 2025. Retail pricing has not yet been confirmed.

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A Nike Kobe Bryant sneaker which was once exclusive to friends, family and the reigning World Series champions is scheduled to be released to the public next year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers-themed version of the Nike Kobe 6 Protro PE sneaker is now set for a retail launch after Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, gifted the shoes to the team in April 2024.

Utilizing Bryant’s sixth signature shoe, the unreleased style colors the sneaker’s scale-covered upper in Dodgers blue with white accents and Bryant’s number “8” on the heel in red. The late legend’s autograph appears in red on the back heel and a matching sheath logo is printed on the insole. 

Unique to this iteration of the shoe is baseball-style stitching, also in red, across the top of the tongue. The version of the sneaker gifted to Dodgers players came with white shoelaces, however newly leaked imagery shows the shoe with blue laces, so it’s possible that detail has been changed for the retail release. 

Despite Bryant’s career-long ties to Los Angeles, this is the first official Dodgers-themed Nike Kobe sneaker to be released. Another Kobe 6 sneaker, 2011’s “All-Star East LA” colorway, is also nicknamed “Dodgers” but did not have any formal connection to the franchise.

While Dodgers players received pairs of the Nike Kobe 6 PE in April, the sneaker was first spotted in September 2023 when Bryant’s daughter, Natalia, wore it while throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the team’s Lakers Night event. 

Also on the horizon for the Nike Kobe 6 Protro is a new “All-Star 2.0” colorway which replaces some of the design’s scale pattern with star shapes. That style is expected to be released in February for NBA All-Star Weekend.

Now, the Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Los Angeles Dodgers” PE is set for a release one year after the team received their pairs. It’s slated to be released for Nike’s 2025 “Mamba Day” celebration on April 13, the same day Bryant played his final NBA game in 2016. The style’s SKU is CW2190-400 and it’s expected to retail for $190.

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The Bad Bunny and Adidas partnership marches on with the pending launch of a new sneaker model which is actually two designs spliced into one.

The upcoming Bad Bunny x Adidas Adizero SL 72 collaboration includes three colorways of the old-meets-new model, which makes its debut in this collection. The shoe blends two distinct eras of Adidas running shoes by combining the bottom half of the Adizero Neftenga, a 2000s-era performance runner, with the top of the more retro SL 72.

The mesh of the Adizero model has been left with a raw edge as it switches to the nylon construction of the SL 72. The hybrid shoe almost looks as if the two individual models have been stitched together, resulting in a juxtaposed look that is both classic and modern at the same time. 

To further emphasize the conjoined aesthetic, two of the collaboration’s colorways feature heavily contrasting colors: one shifts from maroon nylon on the SL 72 components to a bright orange mesh, while another combines a royal blue nylon top with the tennis ball-like neon yellow Adizero Neftenga shade reminiscent of what was seen on Wales Bonner’s recent collaboration. The project’s third colorway takes a much more conservative direction, combining white and off-white shades with blue branding for a (mostly) matching look.

The public’s first glimpse at the Bad Bunny x Adidas Adizero SL 72 came in November, when Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles wore the white colorway at the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

Colorways of the Bad Bunny x Adidas Adizero SL 72 include “Off White/Chalk White/Wonder White” (SKU JP8816), “Maroon/Chalk White/Semi Solar Red” (SKU JP8815) and “Blue/Core White/Shock Yellow” (JQ8757). Retail pricing has not been confirmed, but all three pairs are expected to be released this month. 

Readers can find more of December’s top Adidas sneaker releases here.

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Swedish fashion brand Our Legacy and Italian footwear company ROA have just collaborated for the third time and the resulting product is available now, but it may not last long.

Released under Our Legacy’s Work Shop banner — which focuses on upcycling and is home to many of the label’s collaborations — is the ROA Andreas boot. The Andreas is ROA’s flagship boot and boasts a beefy Vibram Megagrip sole with a rubberized toe cap. It’s described by the brand as a “hybrid boot” which is equipped to tackle Italy’s Dolomite mountains while also looking casual enough for fashionable city wear.

For this collaboration, Our Legacy Work Shop stayed true to its reuse ethos by sourcing premium Vachetta leather from Sweden’s Tärnsjö Garveri factory. Specifically, the boots are constructed with residual tannery offcuts or in other words, scraps that would be otherwise discarded if not for the collab.

The repurposed leather was then treated to a traditional vegetable tanning process to prepare it for use, but the brands left any natural imperfections in place to give each boot its own character — an example of which can be seen on the brown leather texture below. Available in brown and black leather colorways, both styles are designed to develop unique patinas over time.

Our Legacy Work Shop’s signature yin-yang logo is embroidered on the lateral side while the right and left tongues are stamped with the words “work” and “shop,” respectively. ROA’s logo appears at the lateral toe and medial heel as well as the tongue. Both pairs come with black-and-white hiking-style shoelaces and are also packaged with alternate orange laces.

The Our Legacy x ROA Andreas boot is available now from roa-hiking.com, ourlegacy.com, Our Legacy stores, Slam Jam stores and Dover Street Market’s London and Ginza locations. The boot retails for $630 and is beginning to sell out in select sizes. 

In addition to the 2025 return of the “Pearl” Nike Air Foamposite Pro famously featured in Spike Lee’s “He Got Game,” the model will also be making a comeback in a lesser-seen yet revered look.

According to @zsneakerheadz and Sneaker Files, the Nike Air Foamposite Pro in “Pine Green” is slated for a holiday ’25 retro release. This will be the first time the colorway has been reissued following its debut appearance in September 2011. Considerably more subtle than some of the more vibrant and graphic-adorned Foamposite releases from its era, the “Pine Green” colorway mixes the forest green shade with black accents including on its lateral Swoosh logo.

A closer look at the green Foamposite material reveals an iridescent color-shifting treatment similar to what is seen on the recently reissued Nike Air Flightposite in metallic gold. Hints of purple can be seen in the “Pine Green” look depending on how the light hits it. And less than a year after the original “Pine Green,” Nike issued an Air Foamposite Pro in “Gym Green” which leaned more toward the purple side of the color spectrum. 

The Air Foamposite Pro model was originally released in 1997 alongside Penny Hardaway’s Air Foamposite One signature sneaker. Unlike the latter, which featured Hardaway’s “1 Cent” logo on the tongue, heel and outsole, the Air Foamposite Pro was not tied to a specific player.

Its upper uses the same heat-molded manufacturing process and features Zoom Air cushioning, but the Air Foamposite Pro added a large TPU Swoosh on the lateral side and replaced Hardaway’s logos with that of Nike’s. In addition to appearing in “He Got Game,” where it was worn by Ray Allen’s Jesus Shuttlesworth character, the Air Foamposite Pro was worn on the NBA court by players such as Tim Duncan.

Although the “Pine Green” Air Foamposite Pro wasn’t connected to an athlete or celebrity, its unique colorway made it a hit with fans of the sneaker franchise in ’11. A year later, in February 2012, the much-hyped “Galaxy” Air Foamposite One was released, which brought new levels of attention to both models.

The Nike Air Foamposite Pro “Pine Green” is expected to be released during the holiday ’25 season at a retail price of $230. The ’11 iteration is pictured here.

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Balenciaga continues to defy the norms of footwear with the debut of the Zero shoe as part of its fall 2025 collection.

Previewed Monday via a lookbook styled as “internal use” photographs shot on Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia’s phone, the upcoming range included brand staples such as puffed-up, oversized silhouettes and extreme interpretations of everyday garments.

On the footwear front, the fall selection included pre-distressed loafers, stiletto sneakers and a collaboration with orthopedic specialist Scholl. But the pair that has the internet buzzing most is a barely there unisex shoe known as the Zero.

According to Balenciaga, the Zero “distills footwear to its essence” by taking the barefoot shoe concept to the max. Secured only by a heel cup and a notch at the big toe, the 3D-molded shoe is composed entirely of EVA foam and is essentially a thin, wearable sole rather than a shoe.

The Zero was worn by models both with and without socks and was previewed in various muted colorways including black, white, tan and brown. Additional close-up shots shared on social media by Balenciaga sneaker designers Beini Qian and Adrian Perrot Garin, revealing an anatomical foot imprint on both the outsole and inside of the shoe. The brand’s logo appears on the medial side of the big toe.

The shift toward a barefoot shoe concept is a considerable change for the French fashion house, which has spent the last decade inflating sneakers to bulbous proportions, beginning with 2017’s polarizing Triple S model. After introducing its most exaggerated sneaker yet, the 10XL, in April, the brand dialed it down with the slightly more subtle 6XL in November. Now, the new Zero represents a move in the complete opposite direction. 

Retail pricing for the Balenciaga Zero has not yet been confirmed. The slip-on shoe is currently available for preorder from select Balenciaga locations. Readers can find more looks at the new design below.

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Travis Scott fans will have the chance to kick off the new year in style as the release of his newest Nike sneaker is lined up for a January release.

After debuting in a tonal “Sail” look, the artist’s Nike Zoom Field Jaxx sneaker has a new “Light Chocolate” colorway coming next. While the CJ1 T-Rexx (formerly known as the Jumpman Jack) is Travis Scott’s first Jordan signature shoe, the Zoom Field Jaxx is the “Utopia” rapper’s debut Nike model. The half-runner, half-trainer design takes cues from Nike’s 1997 Air Zoom Spiridon model, most notably the model’s midsole and outsole tooling, which features small tweaks such as a shark teeth motif near the forefoot. 

The upcoming “Light Chocolate” version of the Travis Scott x Nike Zoom Field Jaxx fuses a white leather upper with a wide-gauge cream-colored mesh base and brown accents throughout. Like the CJ1 T-Rexx, the Zoom Field Jaxx features a midfoot support strap, which reads “Cactus” on the left medial side and “Shark” on the right medial. The heel features a reflective stripe adorned with “Nike Air Zoom Spiridon” text and embroidery featuring Travis Scott’s smiley face logo juxtaposed with the Swoosh emblem. The heel also features a textured material around the collar, giving the design some added flair.

And before this new-look Zoom Field Jaxx arrives, Nike will release the original Air Zoom Spiridon from ’97 in December. Several additional colorways of the late-‘90s runner are expected to be released throughout 2025. 

Originally expected to arrive before the end of the year, the Travis Scott x Nike Zoom Field Jaxx “Light Chocolate” is currently set to be released on Jan. 17 for a retail price of $170. It will be available from both Nike’s SNKRS platform and Travis Scott’s website. The collaboration’s SKU is HQ3073-100. This story will be updated with any potential changes. 

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An up-and-coming designer known for creative footwear concepts and other pop culture-inspired projects has turned Apple’s nondescript sneaker emoji into a real-life shoe. 

Designer Jose Wong’s ABCD brand launched the Shoe 1 sneaker last week, selling the emoji-referencing sneaker for $219.90 after a series of social media teasers throughout November. The concept sees the unbranded Apple athletic shoe emoji turned into the real deal.

The ABCD Shoe 1 mixes full-grain nubuck leather with mesh on its upper and combines EVA foam and polyurethane on the midsole. But it’s the sneaker’s design, a drab gray-and-white retro running shoe with two diagonal stripes in place of a brand logo, that connects it to the digital icon. 

Apple’s sneaker emoji is in essence a distilled version of the New Balance 574 sneaker. Conceptualized in 1988 as a takedown version of the 576 model created by storied sneaker designer Steven Smith, the New Balance 574 soon became one of the brand’s most ubiquitous shoes. It combined elements of previous New Balance designs in order to serve as a less-expensive version of the 576, which resulted in a sub-$100 price tag that helped boost its success. 

Smith caught wind of the emoji-turned-real-life-sneaker and commented that he “needs a pair” on Wong’s Instagram. Around the same time, Smith took to his own Instagram account to do a bit of bragging. “Yeah, just the sneaker emoji based off my design- what have you done? GOAT mode,” he wrote Tuesday.

Beyond the 574 and 576, Smith’s work includes numerous iconic New Balance models such as the 997 and 1500. Often referred to as the “godfather of the dad shoe,” Smith is also responsible for influential 1990s designs such as the Reebok InstaPump Fury and the Nike Air Streak Spectrum Plus. Today’s footwear fans may be more familiar with his work on the Yeezy line including the Yeezy Boost 700. Most recently, Smith was named head of creative innovation at Crocs Inc.

The ABCD Shoe 1 is currently sold out and the product page has been removed from the brand’s website. Given that it was a preorder, the shoe has also yet to populate on resale platforms, but readers can likely expect pairs to surface soon after the shoes begin shipping. 

Michael Jordan’s first signature sneaker, the iconic Air Jordan 1, will continue its low-top campaign well into the new year with the rumored return of one of the model’s most important colorways. 

Early information from Sneaker Market indicate that a new Air Jordan 1 Low OG NRG style in “Black/Muslin/Varsity Red” will be arriving during the back half of 2025. While it’s far in advance and the exact color blocking has not been confirmed, many reports are speculating that the pair could be a faux-aged version of the “Chicago” Air Jordan 1 Low similar to the treatment seen on 2023’s “Lost and Found” Air Jordan 1 High. 

The “Chicago” colorway of the Air Jordan 1 is arguably its most iconic, with a mix of red, white and black to match Jordan’s Chicago Bulls uniform colors. It was released as a high-top in 1985, but didn’t appear in low-top form until decades later. The first “Chicago” Air Jordan 1 Low release came in 2016, which was prior to the more recent hype surrounding the low variation. That pair has since become increasingly scarce, with pairs regularly reselling for over $1,000 on platforms like GOAT and StockX.

It’s worth mentioning that the color blocking of the upcoming ’25 release could differ from the classic “Chicago” look and it hasn’t yet been confirmed if the pair will match the original styling. Based on the inclusion of Muslin, it’s safe to deduce that the sneaker will feature a pre-aged aesthetic of some sort. And the sneaker’s NRG distinction is reserved for some of Nike and Jordan Brand’s most limited-edition launches, so it’s likely the pair won’t be easy to come by — regardless of exactly how it ends up looking.

Other notable upcoming Air Jordan 1 Low releases include the upcoming “Rookie of the Year” colorway set to arrive in January and a new three-way collaboration between Jordan Brand, Travis Scott and Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design.

The Air Jordan 1 Low OG NRG “Black/Muslin/Varsity Red” is currently expected to be released on Sept. 30 with a SKU of IB8958-001. This story will be updated as more details are shared. The ’16 release of the Air Jordan 1 Low “Chicago” is pictured below.

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An Air Jordan paying homage to Michael Jordan’s Rookie of the Year-winning first season in the NBA is set to be released during spring 2025.

A first look at the new Air Jordan 1 Low OG “Rookie of the Year” sneaker was shared on Instagram by @flightacademy_kickz. The upcoming release is a low-top conversion of 2018’s Air Jordan 1 High release of the same name and features identical details including black accents and red “Nike Air” tongue branding. The “Sail/Black/Golden Harvest/Gym Red” style’s main color is a tan nubuck which makes up the overlays of the shoe and sits atop a white leather base. 

The “Golden Harvest” tan shade is culled from the outfit worn by Jordan during his Rookie of the Year acceptance speech in 1985, which appears below.

“I think my year was very, very experimental for me and I’m very happy that I achieved so much. Hopefully, next year will be more promising. If not, then maybe I’ll retire after two years,” Jordan joked during the speech. 

Much like the soon-to-be-rereleased “Shattered Backboard” Air Jordan 1s and the upcoming “Lucky Shorts” Air Jordan 3, the “Rookie of the Year” Air Jordan 1 Low is anchored by a rather obscure moment in the NBA legend’s history. Oftentimes, these unique instances of storytelling result in a coveted sneaker despite being rooted in less-significant context than, say, a “Playoffs” or “All-Star” colorway.

The Air Jordan 1 Low OG “Rookie of the Year” is priced at $140 and has a SKU of CZ0790-107. An exact release date has not yet been shared, but the pair is expected to arrive sometime in spring ’25. This story will be updated with more details once they are confirmed.

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