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Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. If you’re a fan of futuristic sneaker aesthetics, this is your week as highlights include the Converse Aeon Active CX, the New Balance 2002R, Nike Air Trainer 1, and a new utilitarian-looking sandal from Union LA.
That’s right, utilitarian sandal. It’ll make sense when you see it.
We’re seeing a lot of silhouettes this week that don’t get enough love in the sneaker world — suggesting that we’re in the middle of a shift in a new direction. Bring it on, we say! One day the Nike Shox is laughed out of existence, and the next day it’s hot again. And the faster we get back to the day it’s not popular again, the better.
Here are this week’s seven best sneaker drops and where cop ’em. Let’s dive in.
Converse x A-COLD-WALL Aeon Active CX Micro Chip and Healing Jade
The Converse x A-COLD-WALL Aeon Active CX Micro Chip and Healing Jade is… a mouthful of a name for a sneaker, but if you love futuristic-looking sneakers built from sustainable elements (a la’s Nike’s Space Hippie collection) then this sneaker is sure to check all your boxes.
The sneaker features a suede and leather accented stretch bootie upper with a CX foam midsole made from 12% recycled Nike scraps. Rounding out the design is an iced-out translucent outsole and Converse branding with an exaggerated heel kick that should help you better slip them on.
The Converse x A-COLD-WALL Aeon Active CX Micro Chip and Healing Jade is out now for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Air Max 95 Summit White and Wolf Grey
Nike has been drip-feeding Air Max 95 fans this year with a steady stream of dope drops and this week brings the sleek Summit White and Wolf Grey colorway. Featuring a premium leather and nubuck upper with a white-to-black gradient that travels through cool grey and steel tones with blue lace accents and branding.
It’s a simple drop but easily one of the week’s best.
The Air Max 95 Summit White and Wolf Grey is set to drop on April 14th for a retail price of $175. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
New Balance 550 Conversations Amongst Us
Joe Freshgood serves as the director for New Balance’s Conversations Amongst Us Collection which officially kicks off this week and the collection’s first two drops are near perfect. First up is this off-white 550. Featuring a canvas upper, a hairy suede collar, and special branding, this vintage-inspired take on the 550 brings a weathered look to the design without looking corny.
The New Balance Conversations Amongst Us New Balance 550s are set to drop on April 15th for a retail price of $119.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.
New Balance Conversations Amongst Us 2002R
If you’re looking for a less skatewear-indebted look, the Conversations Amongst Us collection also features this 2002R which perfectly lines up with modern fashion’s current y2k obsession.
Featuring a suede and leather upper with TPU accents and special branding, this 2002R also takes an aged approach to its design with slight yellowing used throughout.
The New Balance Conversations Amongst Us 2002R is set to drop on April 15th for a retail price of $149.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.
Nike Air Trainer 1 Light Smoke Grey and Honeydew
Aside from the Jordan 1s, late ‘80s sneaker silhouettes aren’t what is exciting sneakerheads, but hopefully, that changes, because this Light Smoke Grey and Honeydew iteration of the Air Trainer 1 is really working for us.
With a forefoot strap, reflective details, and a harsh utilitarian aesthetic, these apocalyptic-looking kicks manage to capture a look that is both futuristic and retro at the same time. Like old sci-fi’s vision of the future.
The Air Trainer 1 Light Smoke Grey and Honeydew is set to drop on April 14th for a retail price of $150. Pick a up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Union LA Air Jordan 2 Collection
Bring on the Jordan II resurgence! For too long sneakerheads have been underappreciating the Jordan 2 but lately, more and more designers and labels are taking a crack at revamping the sneaker and we’re all for it. Designed by Peter Moore, the Jordan 2 dared to infuse the world of luxury footwear with sneakers a good thirty years before big luxury brands started to take serious notice in the sneaker world.
This collection from Union LA is a celebration of the sneaker with an updated design in a Rattan and Grey Fog colorway. The upper looks even more elegant here than the original sneaker thanks to the sneaker’s beautiful perforated quarter panels. It’s yet another incredible drop from the team at Union.
The collection also features a matching sandal. The slide borrows the same color palette used on the Jordan 2s and looks strangely utilitarian with its concrete-esque design despite being a sandal.
The Union LA Jordan 2 Collection is set to drop on April 15th for a retail price of $225. Join the raffle to pick up a pair at the Union store in LA or on aftermarket sites like GOAT.
Air Jordan 7 Sapphire
It’s not often that we get a brand new Jordan 7 colorway so we’re especially hyped for this week’s Jordan 7 Sapphire. Featuring a subtly shimmery leather upper with sapphire and pink accents with a transparent midfoot and collar panels, and a speckled midsole, the Sapphire single-handedly makes the case for a Jordan 7 resurgence.
This release coupled with the Union LA Jordan 2 pack gives us hope that things are about to shift in the world of Jordans, which is a good thing. We need fewer 1s, 3s, 4s, and 5s, bring on the 2s, 7s, and 8s!
The Air Jordan 7 Sapphire is set to drop on April 16th for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
