Ooh La La! The 10 Best Paris-Themed Sneakers

The have all eyes on Paris this Summer, as the greatest athletes from around the globe compete for gold-medal greatness in the ‘City of Light’. Naturally, the Olympics aren’t only on the top of mind for sports fans, but sneaker lovers as well. Every four years, we see a plethora of new performance footwear drop before the games as brands vie for the most buzz with their latest technological innovations. But even without the Games for inspiration, sneaker brands have a special affinity with the loved-up city, releasing tons of Paris-themed and Paris-exclusive sneakers throughout the years. In honour of Paris 2024, say bonjour to the ten best ‘Paris’ sneakers!

Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Trocadero Gardens’ (2024)

In addition to the released for the Paris Olympics, the Swoosh’s skateboarding division also cooked up this stunning ‘Trocadero Gardens’ colourway for the celebration of sport. The soft pink, reddish-brown, light grey and cream colour palette of this Dunk references various elements of the landscape, pathways, statuary, and architecture of the Jardins du Trocadero (or Trocadero Gardens for those who don’t speak French) in Paris, which is located near the Eiffel Tower on the opposite side of the Seine river. The grounds will host the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, making for some apt inspiration for this classy Dunk.

Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 990v6 ‘Paris Red’ (2024)

After some teases of his all-red and all-blue colourways of the 990v6 in early July 2024, later in the month that the two sneakers dubbed ‘Paris Red’ and ‘Prom Blue’ would be releasing exclusively at his ‘A Friend Called Cousin’ art exhibition and pop-up in Paris on July 27. Both colourways are worthy of making it onto this list, but the red joints win out since they directly reference Paris in the name. The vibrant look features an all-red makeup in premium pigskin suede, mesh, and reflective accents atop that thick and comfy FuelCell outsole. Just don’t call them the ‘Red October’ 990s, we’re way past that.

Air Jordan 4 ‘Paris/Wet Cement’ (2024)

A third sneaker released in celebration of the 2024 Olympics that made the cut for this top ten is the ‘Paris’ aka ‘Wet Cement’ . The premium nubuck and suede construction features various shades of grey across the upper and sole, inspired by the signature cobblestone streets and sidewalks found throughout Paris. The sophisticated look for the Jordan 4 includes debossed grid panels in place of the standard plastic mesh on the midfoot and tongue, and the Jumpman and Flight logos on the tongue also get the textured treatment. If you’re still trying to get your hands on the epic in a similar grey look, this is definitely your next best option.

Corteiz x Nike Air Max 95 'Aegean Storm' (2023)

Although pretty quiet so far in 2024, was one of the buzziest brands in the crossover sneaker and streetwear fashion cultures in 2023 thanks to exclusive regional drops of their . The label fronted by Clint Ogbenna, aka Clint419, certainly knows how to cause a ruckus, as three limited edition colorways of the Corteiz x Air Max 95 released in surprise fashion, first in London with the ‘Gutta Green’ colourway, then the in New York City, and finally this ‘Aegean Storm’ for Paris. The iteration featured shades of dark grey and black with blue accents and was exclusive to a special pop-up store at Place de la République on April 11. The viral sneaker is now highly sought after on the secondary market.

adidas UltraBOOST ‘Paris’ (2019)

If you haven’t forgotten how much everyone loved the a few years back, you likely remember this très chic edition of the sneaker that’s equal parts performance running shoe and comfortable casual favourite in a special makeup representing Paris. The colourway is from the ‘City Series’ of 2019 that consisted of special looks for the UltraBOOST inspired by running capitals around the world, also including New York City and London. The white-based Primeknit pair for Paris is highlighted by red, white, and blue stripes on the lateral side of the TPU cage and ‘PAR’ text on the right shoe’s tongue. The adidas slogan, ‘The Brand With the Three Stripes’, is printed in silver in various languages across the upper, with the phrase in French (La Marque Aux 3 Bandes) appearing prominently on the heel tab loops.

Nike SB x Air Jordan 1 ‘NYC to Paris’ (2019)

In 2019, on two special editions of the Air Jordan 1 High that each featured two colourways in one. The ‘Los Angeles to Chicago’ and ‘New York City to Paris’ Jordan 1s celebrated the global reach of skateboarding, as well as the model’s association with the sport: skaters have been lacing up pairs almost as long as himself. The ‘New York to Paris’ edition featured a muted grey, black, and white paint job across the leather upper representing the tones of NYC. As a pair was skated in, the painted outer finish could be worn away to reveal a more colourful look in salmon and hot pink tones underneath to represent Paris, the ‘City of Light’. The ‘NYC to Paris’ Jordan 1 stands today as one of the very best x Air Jordan colabs to date.

Colette x Air Jordan 1 High 'Au Revoir' F&F (2017)

Revered Paris boutique Colette shocked the world when they announced they’d be closing their doors for good in 2017 after twenty years in business as a top shopping destination for hip, style-minded locals and tourists. Colette’s pals over at Jordan Brand decided to honour the boutique’s final days with a very special edition of the . The ‘Au Revoir’ AJ1 features a two-tone look in Colette’s signature blue and white tones, with special details including ‘Bonjour’ and ‘Au Revoir’ text visible below the clear rubber outsoles, Colette’s circles logo on the back, and ‘1997’ and ‘2017’ on opposite heels to commemorate the boutique’s opening and closing years. The special sneaker was produced in very limited pairs and only given to friends and family of Colette, never to be sold at retail. It’s now one of the most coveted Air Jordan 1s of all time, with two pairs even being sold via auction at Sotheby’s for thousands of dollars each.

PSNY x Air Jordan 12 ‘Paris’ (2017)

In 2017, three luxe built in premium nubuck in tonal colourways of wheat for New York City, olive green for Milan, and this delicious red for Paris. Taking inspiration from France’s well known penchant for wine making, the design features the ‘Bordeaux’ shade from top to bottom with debossed lines instead of stitching in the soft nubuck upper. The three Jordan 12s were first launched in limited quantities on June 17, 2017 via the Nike SNKRS Stash system, which meant you had to be in each colourway’s respective city to even have a chance at copping a pair. A slightly wider release on the SNKRS app soon followed, but it still wasn’t that easy to get your hands on a pair.

Air Jordan 5 'Quai 54' (2011)

Founded in Paris in 2003, the tournament has become the world’s largest annual streetball event, with hoopers from around the globe converging in France each summer to compete. And with being an official sponsor, it’s also meant that there’s been a lot of special edition Air Jordans, usually in wild and unique colourways, that reflect the high energy of the event. There were a lot of great options to choose from, but most would agree that the from 2011 is the best of them all. The memorable look for the AJ5 features a white leather upper with black and vibrant neon green accents and a Quai 54 logo stitched on the heel. Jordan Brand has never re-released any of the Quai 54 Jordans to date, but we’ll keep holding out hope for a bringback of these.

Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Paris’ (2003)

We saved the best for last. When thinking of ‘Paris’ sneaker colourways, most collectors will likely have an image of this legendary pop up in their minds first. Officially ‘Rope/Special Cardinal’ for the colourway listed on the box, this Dunk is so much more, with its canvas upper covered in the art of French painter Bernard Buffet, who passed away in 1999. Rumoured to be limited to only 202 pairs, the arty Dunk was originally intended to release via raffle only at the ‘White Dunk: Evolution of an Icon’ art exhibit in Paris in 2003. Due to massive demand that could have likely reached the infamous levels, the raffle was cancelled and the release was moved to select sneaker boutiques in Paris including Opium and Colette. Over twenty years later, the ‘Paris’ colourway is regarded as one of the greatest and most grail-level Nike SB Dunks of all time.