The old Nike business model of taking a shoe that was popular 20 or 30 years ago and rehashing it is getting pretty lazy. For a company so set on innovation, how ironic is it that they can’t innovate something for the sneaker community? We’re getting fed the same pairs that already had their heyday decades ago. Yet, looking back on the year, I honestly couldn’t love it more.
Of course, Nike isn’t the only sneaker company that made strides in 2025. New Balance tapped into what they do best—letting their most loyal collaborators build the hype for them. Asics continues to create a near–monopoly on the sportstyle sneaker niche. And the impact that Onitsuka Tiger had on the 2025 fashion scene is almost undeniable, being one of the huge drivers behind the “skinny soccer shoe” trend.
That all being said, 2025 was not necessarily a year of evolution for the sneaker community, but one that reaffirmed what makes the culture so great in the first place. The huge platform that modern sneaker trends have is held up by the pillars of the late ’90s and early ’00s. To celebrate last year’s success in the sneaker game, I’ve put together a list of the top five shoes that made the biggest strides.
5. KITH x New Balance “Osaka Pack”
KITH returns to a very familiar place on this sneaker–of–the–year list. It’s almost tradition at this point to anticipate the new sneaker collaboration that comes with the opening of each new KITH flagship store. For the grand opening of KITH Osaka on March 21, Ronnie Fieg decided to reach back in the vault and rehash the classic KITH steel blue color blocking to put it on New Balance’s trendiest silhouettes. It’s been a big strategy of New Balance this year to reintroduce the coveted New Balance 992 back into circulation, and what better way to do it than to leave it to Fieg. It’s sort of like when a network remakes an old TV show with new actors, only this time, it’s actually good.
KITH founder and veteran sneaker collaborator Ronnie Fieg first made his stride in sneakers with Asics and their Gel–Lyte III model, releasing the salmon toe and leatherback colorways in 2011. These two pairs would go on to be arguably the most coveted Asics colorways of all time, but Fieg didn’t stop there. Eventually branching off into collaborating with New Balance, Nike, Clarks, Timberland, and several other brands, Fieg, through KITH, created a brand and an identity so important to sneaker culture.
The New Balance 991v2 in the pack features a more traditional style of the KITH steel blue colors, reminiscent of the 992’s released in the same colorway in 2020, one of the most sought–after KITH collection pieces today. And for the other shoe in the pack, Fieg took another swing at the 992 with a lighter, more muted shade of blue reminiscent of Joe Freshgoods’ work with New Balance. While one brings a new take on an OG silhouette, the other casts classic colors on the company’s latest in the New Balance 99X lineup, and the result of the two couldn’t be more indicative of KITH’s attention to their history and loyal customer base, as well as their desire for success for their Osaka branch.
4. Air Jordan 5 Retro “Reimagined”
It’s always kinda scary when Nike announces that they’ll be doing a “reimagined” version of one of their classic Air Jordan colorways. Some releases are done fantastically and are venerated as the perfect “new life” for certain colorways, such as the Lost and Found Air Jordan 1. Then, on the other hand, a simple material change can completely ruin the demand and legacy of a shoe, like the suede Royal Air Jordan 1s, which are often considered one of the worst Air Jordan releases of all time. The Air Jordan 5 Black Metallic is so coveted and revered as the “premier” colorway of the Air Jordan 5, so it’s only natural to be worried about Nike’s plans. And I, along with the rest of the community, am so glad to say they killed it (like, killed it in a good way, not killed the shoe).
Featuring reflective 3M material on only the outlines of the suede panels, the materials remain barely changed, but changed just enough that the release is fresh and not just another retro model. Aside from a detail you can only really see when it’s dark, the shoe is the Black Metallic Jordan 5 that everyone knows and loves. And while the Air Jordan 5 is struggling to find its place in modern fashion trends, people who already love the silhouette know the significance of this release, either happily wearing their pairs or reselling them for over $200 above retail value.
3. Undefeated x Air Jordan 4
The grail of grails. The Undefeated Air Jordan 4, originally released as the first–ever Air Jordan collab in 2005, was limited to only 72 pairs. They quickly became one of the most coveted pairs of all time, up there with original 1985 Air Jordan 1s and the Wu–Tang dunks, which also recently saw a re–release in 2024. Two decades after the original, in 2025, Nike decided to dig deep in their bag and team up once again with Undefeated, a sneaker and streetwear boutique, for the modern sneaker community to enjoy.
Over the past couple of years, Nike has begun rolling out their “Nike Classics” strategy. This whole advertising campaign is taking heavily coveted pairs of Nikes from the early 2000s and rereleasing them in their near–original form. The point was to let the younger sneaker collectors in 2025 have a chance at owning a pair. However, this strategy isn’t all good. A lot of discourse in the community has centered on whether this strategy is actually a good idea for these shoes. While young sneaker collectors get to add these pairs to their shelves, it risks stripping the “legendary” status that the original pairs once had. The fact that the originals were so old and limited was the reason they were so coveted in the first place. So, bringing a shoe like the Undefeated Air Jordan 4 back appeared to be a dangerous decision for the culture.
Despite all those debates, the 2025 release isn’t just as great as the original; it’s also much more available than the original. This shoe is very much an “if you know, you know” kind of thing, and those who do know immediately scooped up a pair to cement their place in sneaker–collecting history. In a situation like this, where new collectors’ hopes are pitted against older collectors’ sense of preservation, there really isn’t a “right” answer of whether to bring the shoes back or not. However, as much as it could be nice to imagine a world where original pairs are still sitting for tens of thousands of dollars on eBay, Nike did decide to pull the trigger, for better or worse.
2. Levi’s x Nike Air Max 95 Pack
I knew before I even wrote this list that some variant of the Air Max 95 would be at the top. Nike pushed the 95 down our throats so hard this year, and the most interesting part is that we were willingly waiting with our mouths wide open (pause). Each year, an Air Max 95 consistently lands itself in the “top 10” conversation. In 2024, it was the Stash pack, which was my personal favorite sneaker of last year. The year before that, the first shoes in the Corteiz x Nike collab garnered high praise from the community. And as we fast forward to the end of 2025, the pattern continues. Air Max enjoyers were very well–fed this year, and the one (or rather, ones) to crown them all is the Levi’s x Nike Denim, Ecru, and Black Air Max 95s.
Made out of legitimate 14 oz. Levi’s denim, each shoe in the pack features a jean–upper (a jupper?), the iconic big–bubble midsole that Nike brought back earlier this year, and an ever–iconic Levi’s red tag on the medial side of the shoe, the collab aims to combine two American brands with long histories of fashion innovation. Everyone wears jeans. Everyone wears shoes. So, it just made perfect sense for Nike to cover both bases. The pairs released at various boutiques as well as directly from Nike and Levi’s on July 10 and 11, and as with most pairs of 95s that release nowadays, sold out instantly.
Out of the several great 95s that debuted in 2025, the Levi’s collab stuck out to the community the most, due to its roots in broader American fashion and culture. The Atmos collab, while great, was too highbrow for the public to understand. Everyone understands jeans.
1. Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4 “Brick by Brick”
When this pair dropped in March, I was one of thousands who firmly believed this shoe would sit on its throne at the top spot when it came time for everyone to put together their sneaker of the year lists. The fact that people had made their minds so early speaks volumes.
What makes this release, and all of Nigel Sylvester’s work with Nike in general, so great is that Sylvester understands his audience better than anyone else in the sneaker space right now. Sylvester, a professional BMX athlete and video creator, inspires the public to get outside and actually live in the cities around them. Sylvester has hosted several bike rides throughout New York City, where he calls home. And through the release event of this shoe, the streets of New York saw hundreds of people lined up at sneaker boutiques to get their hands on a pair. Sylvester wanted people to get outside for this shoe, and the public did that and more. Around release time, photos of anyone and everyone celebrating their successes in their own respective sneaker hunts flooded social media. A particular video of two elderly women waving the shoe in the air went viral, elating many that an Air Jordan 4 could have this level of reach and enraging others, livid that these ladies could get a pair but they couldn’t.
The shoe itself features a brick orange color throughout, representing the need for progress. You can only improve by building yourself up, “brick by brick.” The back of the shoe also features Sylvester’s Nike signature, “Bike Air” instead of “Nike Air.” Nike has historically been very protective of its branding—modifications to its insignia are incredibly rare, and when they do happen, they’re incredibly significant. Nike’s faith in Sylvester’s message, along with the creative control it gave him over its most coveted models, demonstrates just how important Sylvester’s message is to the sneaker culture and, beyond that, to the general public. If only I had a bike.
