Welcome back to the GRM’s Top Tier Trainers guide – our list of the coldest creps dropping over the next month. Sneaker season is fully underway as pubs and clubs get ready to open their doors once more to the masses.
Although it may still seem too good to be true, it’s time to dust off the old dancing shoes and bring that quarantine drip out from the back of the wardrobe. Just in case you’re still in need of some perfect trainers for the ceremonial first skank back, we have you covered with an array of highly anticipated drops ready for the rave or runway.
Highlights include a highly experimental AF1, a brand new Yeezy 700 and a landmark collaboration between two titans of contemporary pop culture!
1ST JULY – AIR JORDAN 6 ‘GOLD HOOPS’
It’s been a long time since rumours of the golden hoops edition began circulating in December of 2020. Our first glimpse at the fabled golden hoop embellishments came on the side of a Jordan 14 dropping as part of the Jordan Brand Fall 2021 lineup. To our surprise, the ‘Golden Hoop’s will now be making their debut on the tongue of these White/Sail/Barely Rose women’s Jordan 6’s.
3RD JULY – JORDAN 4 ‘WHITE OREO’
Originally scheduled for release in June, the highly-anticipated Jordan 4 ‘White Oreo’ is now due to drop this month. This highly-anticipated shoe pays homage to the OG Jordan 4 in ‘White Cement’ first unveiled back in 1989. Although this shoe looks like a moon boot appropriate for a skywalker like Jordan, this design is actually grounded in three decades of sneaker and basketball history.
After a successful rerelease in 1999 and 2012, the ‘White Cement’ now reemerges under the moniker of ‘White Oreo’ to bring a much needed injection of vintage nostalgia back into our crep rotations.
5TH JULY – YEEZY BOOST 700 MNVN “BLUE TINT”
The Yeezy-Adidas relationship is complex to say the least but despite their differences, the two crep giants continue to craft minimalistic and forward-thinking designs that demonstrate why their partnership defined an era. The recent success of the new ‘Foam Runner’ models have allowed the brand to trial new colourways on often neglected and underrated silhouettes. This monochrome reflective construction draws in materials used on classic motorbikes to create a sleek midsole strung over black taping. The whole look is tied together by contrasting blacked out soles, tongues and laces.
9TH JULY – GOLF LE FLEUR X CONVERSE CHUCK 70 ‘YELLOW FLAME‘
Following the release of his brand new album ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’, Tyler The Creator continues to leave his fans lost for words with a classic converse collab. Golf Le Fleur has taken over the timeless chuck 70 to demonstrate the clear maturation of the brand as they depart the flower boy pattern era and move into a stripped-back neutral design. A parchment white canvas body and light purple abstract flames create an easily stylable aesthetic that still clearly resembles the eclectic fashion sense of their creator.
15TH JULY – JORDAN 1 DUNK LOW ‘WOLF GREY’
The Dunk Low has been the shoe of the moment this season. No small part of the silhouettes continued cult following is due to the copious amounts of clean colourways that have come out in recent months. This fresh grey and white design had been likened to the exorbitantly expensive Dior x Nike collab. A slight hint of lilac can be spotted on the stitching below the body, adding just a splash of chartacter to an otherwise clean-cut design. Timeless and a perfect alternative to the Dior ones we all dream about.
16TH JULY – SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY X NIKE AIR FORCE 1
The best part about Lebron James starring in Space Jam 2 is that it gives Nike the chance to honour the historic achievement of its premier signature athlete with a brand new AF1. This will actually be the send instalment of the Space Jm series after the ‘Lola Bunny’ white and blue colourway drops on July 15th. However, it’s these blacked-out cybernetic AF1’s that are stealing the show. Electric blue detailing and a washed grey sole make for the perfect base for the circuit-board inspired calligraphy to dance around the entirety of the midsole. Simple and steezy, just like the king himself.
14TH JULY – SPS x NIKE AIR FORCE 1 LOW EXPERIMENTAL ‘POSTAL GHOST’
The SPS X Nike AF1 ‘Postal Ghost’ is hands down the strangest collaboration of the year, but perhaps not for the reason you think. This crep was entirely designed, created and promoted without prior authority or license agreement with the United States Postal Service. Hilariously, this resulted in an arduous legal battle that resulted in Nike having to make a formal license agreement with the US government. If this story wasn’t bizarre enough, the finished design will actually be shipped privately with UPS. The shoe itself is built to resemble the priority shipping boxes and address tags used by the USPS.
JULY 30TH – LEGO x ADIDAS SUPERSTAR
Adidas and lego have been on an absolute tare recently releasing a brand-new collab crep in back to back months. However, it is this design that the people have really been waiting for. For the first time, the iconic LEGO brick pattern will be adapted in place of the equally recognisable three-stripes motif. The blacked-out lego brick can be found on both the heel of the shoe and on the toe cap, making this shoe appear almost as of it is entirely constructed from LEGO when seen from a distance.
[RUMOURED] OFF-WHITE X NIKE AIR FORCE 1 “UNIVERSITY GOLD”
These ‘University Gold’ OFF-WHITE AF1’s are unquestionably going to be the hardest trainers to get your hands on this month – and for good reason. This is only the fourth colourway ever released of the legendary leather edition in Nike and Off-Whites storybook collaboration history. It’s rumoured that the release date will coincide with the launch of Virgil Abloh upcoming exhibition at ICA Boston. Upon further analysis, the design reveals a full leather body with exposed sponge along the tongue. The additions of a stitched-on Swoosh and the famed Helvetica text beneath the yellow Nike Air tongue label makes this a must-have crep of the summer.
[RUMOURED] – AIR MAX 97 ‘COCONUT MILK’
The newest installment in Nike’s ‘Plant Pack’ series is a dreamy taupe and cream design with accents of burnt orange and cork. “Light Sienna” and “Sesame” is the flavour of the day, a colour scheme that was first unveiled back in April. The botanical embroidery on the tongue mark out each design in the 12 part series, similar in many ways to the previously released navy clover motif.