Look, we’re going to be straight up with you: this week isn’t the best week for sneaker drops. It’s a “look at these shoes with Kermit the Frog on them” kind of week. To be honest, we’ve been bracing ourselves for a week like this. 2021 hit strong, it felt like every week brought a super hyped collaboration, a retro Jordan colorway re-release, or a new special release. Now that we’ve hit early spring things have slowed down to a crawl.
Wow, we started this week’s SNX pretty grim. Let’s give it another try:
Welcome to SNX DLX! This week we’ve got some shoes with Kermit the Frog on them, as well as some hot collaborations between Nike and Skepta and Palace and Reebok!
All jokes aside, this week being a light one isn’t all bad — it means it’ll be a lot easier to choose where you want to throw your money and after nearly four months of amazing sneaker drops, I’m sure our bank accounts can use the breather.
Kermit the Frog Adidas Stan Smiths
We weren’t kidding about the damn Kermit the Frog shoes. Adidas has just relaunched the iconic Stan Smith sneaker silhouette with a more sustainable carbon footprint and to celebrate the new construction, the rarely altered sneaker is getting some radical Disney redesigns, the best of which — by a mile — is this Kermit the Frog adorned iteration.
Made using what Adidas is calling a “Primegreen” upper, constructed from 50% recycled material, the Kermit the Frog Stan Smiths feature the sneaker’s usual green — lightened slightly to become “frog green” — with a subtle line drawing of Kermit near the heel, arms crossed looking, you know, Kermit-like. He’s deadpan! He’s meme-able! He’s Kermit!
The Kermit the Frog Adidas Stan Smiths are set to drop today, April 1st, for a retail price of $90. Pick up a pair at the Adidas webstore.
Air Jordan 9 Change The World
Jordan Brand is continuing to pump out women’s-exclusive colorways and this time around they’ve put together a special release of the Air Jordan 9 dubbed “Change the World.” This release marks this silhouette’s first-ever drop even available in women’s sizes, which reminds us (again) that everyone should size their shoes like Vans: full runs!
Featuring a color-blocked pastel heavy colorway, the Change the World is spring-ready with a mismatched combo of pinks, oranges, lavender, and yellows. Completing the design is the embroidered 23 logo at the heel, as well white midsoles and a matching white leather upper.
The Air Jordan 9 Change the World is out now for a retail price of $268. Pick up a pair at GOAT.
Amoeba Music x Nice Kicks New Balance 992 Collection
Famed Los Angeles shoe retailer Nice Kicks is linking up with another famed LA retailer, Amoeba Music, for a special set of New Balance 992s that borrow the iconic record store’s signature color palette. Available in a black and teal or grey and yellow iteration, both pairs feature details that resemble Amoeba’s famous logo.
As someone born in LA, I have to tell you, that muted teal color is distinctly Amoeba — I want to describe it as sort of an oxidized copper. It looks amazing on New Balance’s 992 and I’d argue that the less you know about the LA record store, the more unique and inspired this particular set of colorways looks.
The collection drops with a matching apparel collection which we’re admittedly way less psyched on.
The Amoeba Music x Nice Kicks New Balance 992 collection is set to drop on April 2nd for a retail price of $240. Pick up a pair exclusively at Nice Kicks.
Skepta Nike Air Max Tailwind V
While not nearly as big stateside as he is across the pond, British grime MC Skepta has been slowly building up a pretty strong roster of sneaker collaborations. For his fifth piece with Nike, Skepta has taken on the Tailwind V silhouette, draping the futuristic silhouette in a mix of moody black and aqueous blue tie-dye.
The design is coated in a sort of silver shimmer with iridescent accents across the tongue and collar, giving the sneaker an illuminated look under the right light. It captures Skepta’s vibe perfectly and makes for a moody iteration of one of Nike’s less-beloved silhouettes.
The Skepta Nike Air Max Tailwind is set to drop on April 2nd for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair exclusively at 43einhalb.
Palace x Reebok NPC Collection
This week, Palace is launching a full apparel collection in partnership with Reebok but the highlight is easily this collection of Palace-branded Reebok NPC’s, which drop in your choice of either a soft suede-based comfy tan colorway or white or black leather. Both Palace and Reebok are British brands and never before has anything either brand produced anything (bucket hats aside) that looked this f*cking British.
Each colorway of these sneakers looks like something a different English football club would rock, thanks to Palace’s most elegant logo yet — an embroidered PL with a wreath and a crown. See what we mean? British AF.
The Palace x Reebok NPC collection is set to drop on April 2nd for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair exclusively at Palace.
Coral Studios x Nike Air Max 95 2.0
Though slightly altered from its original release, New York-based Coral Studios is launching a refresh of their beloved 2018 colorway of the Nike Air Max 2.0. This new redesign adds a few layers of black leather over the upper, which is a much darker blue here than the 2018 release.
Because the design borrows so heavily from the look of a coral reef — which are literally dying off every day — Coral Studios is attempting to give back, the 2.0 drops in a fully recyclable collapsable box (which can be reassembled for collecting) and will ship with a QR code that takes fans directly to The Great Barrier Reef Foundation. We would’ve liked to see some of the proceeds go toward that donation though — especially when you consider how the massive shipping burden of Nike has added to ocean acidification, etc.
The original drop was limited to just 50 pairs, but Coral Studios is attempting to give people who missed out the first time around a second chance with this more extended run.
The Coral Studios Nike Air Max 95 2.0s are set to drop on April 2nd for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair exclusively at Coral Studios.
Nike Air Tuned Max Celery
If you aren’t yet aware, the fashion of the early ‘00s is back. Don’t believe us? Why else would Nike bring back the Air Tuned Max, a silhouette that dropped just before Y2K and has been all but forgotten in modern sneaker circles. The clunkily named Air Tuned Max features an alien-esque design with an iridescent finish across the entire upper which is composed of lightweight knit with wavy paneling.
Welcome back Air Tuned Max! It’ll be interesting to see if this silhouette holds up as we make it through the ‘20s.
The Nike Air Tuned Max Celery is set to drop on April 3rd for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair at GOAT.
Air Jordan 12 Lagoon Pulse
If you’re looking for an elegant spring-appropriate Jordan look no further than this week’s drop of the Jordan 12 Lagoon Pulse. Dressed in an Easter weekend mix of baby blue and pure white with purple insoles, the Lagoon Pulse features a distinct tall mudguard and a low-profile with reflective hints across the entire sneaker.
The Air Jordan 12 Lagoon Pulse is set to drop on April 3rd at 7:00 AM EST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.