The People Who Shaped Sneaker Culture in 2023
No matter what you think of it, there’s no denying that 2023 has been a turning point for the sneaker industry. While the past few years have seen the scene dominated by hype culture, this one saw a noticeable shift that allowed new collaborators, brands and trends to bubble up to the surface.
Fuelled by a leadership shake-up at and claims of ‘fatigue’ from the industry’s current offering, this year we saw the sneakersphere dominated by terrace style and retro runners, allowing brands like , and to shine. Elsewhere, as collaborations became more and more commonplace in sneakers, designers like Clint found new ways to drum up hype. There were also major shifts when long-term partners broke off to work with different brands: Edison Chen, of course, swapped the Swoosh for the Three Stripes in a move that shocked the scene, while Nigo joined forces with Nike. The latter is still yet to reveal his first Swoosh project, but we’ll save a spot on next year’s list for him.
As we venture into 2024, we’ve taken a look at the people who helped to shape sneaker culture this year.
Grace Wales Bonner
There’s no doubt adidas’ had a hell of a year, but would that be the case without ? Though her Samba colabs actually date back to 2020, the sneaker hit the mainstream this year, and shoppers far beyond the sneakersphere were trying to get their hands on a pair.
While the Sambapocolypse hit globally, other terrace styles continued to benefit, as the interest in the Blokecore trend rose 96 per cent year on year. Wales Bonner had spurred on one of (if not) the biggest trend in the sneaker scene this year, but it wasn’t just adidas that reaped the rewards. The movement spread to other brands and silhouettes, and shoes like the also gained traction, proving that Bonner was capable of contributing to waves way beyond her own collaborative products.
Edison Chen
Edison Chen and had some seriously strong Nike releases at the start of the year, but Chen surprised everyone when it was revealed that he would soon ditch the Swoosh for adidas. To celebrate CLOT’s 20th year, Chen decided it was time to mix things up a bit and opted for a more mature aesthetic that reflected the brand’s time in the game.
Speaking on the Juice Store blog, Chen noted that the direction was to be ‘more chic than street’ and that’s exactly what we got. Showcased at the brand’s SS24 runway show, the upcoming CLOT x adidas collection saw the duo present both formal-looking and uber-casual espadrille Superstars, as well as a selection of luxurious beaded Sambas. Will we continue to see a more mature approach to sneakers next year? Only time will tell.
Clint419
If you hadn’t heard of Clint419 at the start of the year, then we bet you have by now. The founder of British brand Corteiz may have been sued by the Swoosh back in 2021, but fast-forward just a couple of years and the duo are well and truly ‘running tings’. Bringing London street style to the masses, Clint and Nike dropped a three-part collection of (or 110s) that caused literal riots.
With most sneaker launches taking place online these days, the Corteiz x Air Max 95 launches in London, Paris and New York saw scenes that really threw us back to the peak hype era. People were running from location to location and even climbing on top of buses in order to grab a pair. What’s more, Clint also ran an extra London-based drop where the pairs retailed for £110 – the very price that earned them their name in cities like London and Liverpool. This drop was a result of cancelled bot orders from the previous CRTZ webstore releases, something we’d love to see rolled out to other brands’ releases later down the line.
Kiko Kostadinov
Having cultivated a cult following since he first joined ASICS in 2018, has continued to keep the techy fashion niche alive while consulting with ASICS. He has been a pioneer when it comes to pushing the boundaries of sneaker design, offering up a number of interesting silhouettes across both ASICS’ GR offerings and his NOVALIS sub-brand. While the latter is still in its early stages, we have managed to get a glimpse at the first couple of silhouettes, and it’s fair to say that if you still think the sneaker scene is lacking in innovation, then you’re just looking in the wrong places. Kostadinov’s work has become a firm favourite within the internet’s niche fashion circles proving that ASICS are a brand to continue watching in 2024.
Rihanna
might have taken some time off to focus on her other businesses, but the mogul returned to the sneakersphere with a vengeance in 2023. RiRi reconnected with the Big Cat to relaunch her brand. Having first joined together back in 2015, Rihanna played a huge part in improving the sneaker scene for women, not only proving that women could have their own lines, but also by creating sneakers that women actually wanted to wear.
Although the industry has come on leaps and bounds since then, Rihanna’s re-entry will no doubt help to draw new audiences to the sneakersphere, as well as set some exciting new trends for the years to come.
Gabriel Whaley
Love them or hate them, made headlines in 2023 – which means they also shaped sneaker culture (for better or worse). Kicking off the year with a social media sh*tstorm in the form of their Big Red Boots, MSCHF proved themselves to be the ultimate trolls, while also challenging both sneaker and luxury brands to rise to the challenge of producing silly footwear. Off the back of these, we saw Imran Potato drop his ‘Caveman’ and ‘Rat’ shoes, Louis Vuitton dropped a fake leg boot, and Crocs teamed up with Dreamworks on a Shrek-faced Classic Clog.
MSCHF’s CEO, Gabe Whaley, describes the company as an ‘attention and fame machine’, and followed up the outrageous boots with a bunch of more wearable styles, like the Gobstomper and Super Babies. As the scene continued to grow tired of Dunks and Jordans, MSCHF’s products definitely helped to cut through the noise, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to see brands focus on innovation as opposed to outrage in 2024.
Salehe Bembury
has a long history within the world of sneaker design, having worked for Versace and on early Yeezy seasons. Over the past couple of years, he’s become well known for his work with , but in 2023, the designer was given his own line. Building upon his original Crocs Pollex Clog, Bembury has been working on an entire division, which will include Crocs’ first-ever sneaker.
For a brand with such an iconic original product, the segue into sneakers is a massive opportunity, and there’s nobody better than Bembury to take the reins on this project. As Crocs continues to gain market share, it’ll be interesting to see whether they’ll be giving our favourite sneaker brands a run for their money in the years to come.
We recently caught up with Bembury to discuss his upcoming New Balance colab in Issue 49 of Sneaker Freaker magazine. You can get your copy .
Travis Scott
releases continued to be some of the most-hyped drops of the year, as fans clambered to get their hands on both his women’s exclusive release and his golf shoe. While the choice to release an Air Jordan 1 wasn’t exactly monumental or culture-shifting, the decision to drop a pair specifically designed for women was – Scott was actively taking a stand against ‘shrink and pink’ culture, and in turn, some of his male fans felt left out.
Aside from the Jordan release, Scott also announced his Jordan line. Given last year’s Kanye debacle, it’s interesting to see a big brand put so much trust into another collaborator again, but Scott has proven time again that he can push products. Whether we’ll see a Jumpman Jack release in 2023 is still TBC, but if not, we can’t wait to see how 2024 shapes up.
Cecilie Bahnsen
Another name on ASICS’ list, is changing the game when it comes to women’s releases. Once again working with the brand to elevate their sportstyle category, Bahnsen is reclaiming the ‘shrink and pink’ world of women’s releases by putting her own feminine spin on ASICS’ retro styles. From hand-sewn flower detailing that started its own TikTok trend to pioneering a movement into , Bahnsen has challenged the traditional idea of what women’s releases can look like, as well as helped to introduce a whole new audience to sneakers. For that, she’s certainly someone who’s shaped sneaker culture in 2023.
Ben Affleck
Not just content with starring as Phil Knight in AIR, Ben Affleck is a sneakerhead through and through. Though he delivered a stellar performance in the movie (he earned both a best supporting actor and a best director nomination), Affleck’s best sneaker moments actually tend to happen off-screen.
A long-time collector, Affleck has some heat in his collection, including the Sean Cliver x Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Holiday Special’, the fragment design x Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low ‘Royal’ and a custom pair of ‘Chicago’ AJ1s that just so happen to feature a backwards Swoosh. Having been papped in many different pairs this year, Affleck has become a bit of a low-key sneaker legend, so we had to save a spot for him on this list.
Samuel Pearce
‘Why fix what isn’t broken’ might be good advice most of the time, but some of our sneakers wouldn’t exist if people didn’t bend the rules a bit. Changing up a fan-favourite silhouette takes a lot of courage, but New Balance’s Samuel Pearce wasn’t afraid of the challenge. While the New Balance 990 has seen a couple of iterations since its introduction, Pearce was the first to give the 991 a v2. What’s more, the designer ensured that the sneaker was also made in New Balance’s Flimby factory, making the the first 99X silhouette to be designed and made in the UK – a milestone moment for NB’s domestic manufacturing program.
Hidden.NY
Finally, no Instagrammer has the power to make or break a trend like Having started the account back in 2018, the owner of Hidden.NY (who prefers to remain anonymous) has not only filled our IG feeds with nods to pop culture moments, high-heat products and the odd culturally relevant fact, but he’s also managed to leverage the platform into a bonafide collaborator. This year, his collaborative cardigan with Needles was featured in Succession, and he also went on to work with G-SHOCK and ASICS. Outside of his colabs, Hidden.NY is also considered to be one of the scene’s key tastemakers, having pretty much managed to define the ‘mood board aesthetic’ alongside JJJJound.
Wondering how 2023 stacked up across the board? Head for more end-of-year content.