Welcome back to our Top Tier Trainers guide, our breakdown of the freshest creps dropping every month!
With spooky season lurking on the horizon, every player in the sneaker industry are resurrecting their most ghoulish colourways, monstrous silhouettes and devilish collaborations to brighten up these dark autumn evenings.
Highlights this month include the unveiling of a highly sought after Adidas x Palace collab crep, the return of legendary designer Jeremey Scott to the Adidas creative team and a graffiti-inspired ‘Skeleton’ AF1 that is guaranteed to be a steezy addition to any costume this All Hallows Eve.
Check out the Top Tier Trainers dropping this October below!
1ST OCTOBER – AF1 FONTANKA PEARL WHITE
As the 40th anniversary of AF1’s rapidly approaches, Nike is initiating a whole host of colourways that commemorate the wide-reaching resonance found toward the shoe in numerous underground cultures. The ‘Pearl White’ colourway is the latest addition to the ‘Fontanka’ series that pays homage to the rave scene of St. Petersburg.
The atypical construction of the tongue and mudguard would have typically been the standout feature of this sneaker however the juxtaposition of the bold red Nike React accent in the midsole and tri-colour branded tag break the cream coloured inertia of an otherwise muted design.
8TH OCTOBER – PALACE X ADIDAS ULTRABOOST 21
Although Nike has been the raining hegemon of skatewear brand collaborations after releasing numerous lines in tandem with Supreme, Adidas is here to challenge the status quo with a new creative partnership with Palace. Their next endeavour will be to reinterpret the ultra boost in two new colourways of Black and White, both with a splash paint tartan design that blends effortlessly with the iconic palace logo on the tongue. The Jackson Pollock-esque design may have been too messy for most if it had not been for the addition of a unique Palace branded starched white Boost foam to balance out the design.
8TH OCTOBER – NIKE X PATTA AIR MAX 1 MONARCH
The storied partnership history between Nike and Patta is about to add a new chapter to its growing tale with the Air Max 1 Monarch edition. This design will come in a special co-branded box embellished with both the Nike logo and the insignia of the famed Amsterdam-based streetwear brand.
The colourway is comprised of a grey tone mesh strung below white leather overlays and a light brown nubuck mudguard, making the perfect base for the Patta tongue tag, accented swoosh detailing, printed insoles and Air midsoles. Anytime these two brands join forces you can guarantee that they will fly off the shelf so don’t miss your chance to bad a pair and pre-register on the Patta site for the drop!
9TH OCTOBER – ADIDAS ULTRA BOOST “HEAT MAP”
It’s fair to say that Adidas is stealing the show this month with numerous surprisingly steezy silhouettes making their debut. Following a number of historically more muted designs on their most universally used and commonly chosen crep, Adidas is spicing things up with a sultry little number based on the radiating colours of a weather map. Clusters of red boarded by yellow, green and neon blue permeate out across the heel, tongue and toe box. This styleable and exclusive addition to the ultra boost family looks like it stepped right off the cover to Skepta’s Ignorance Is Bliss project and we’re here for it!
10TH OCTOBER – NBA X NIKE AIR FORCE 1 EMB “LAKERS”
The NBA is turning 75 years old this year and to celebrate its capacity as the association’s longest-standing partner, Nike is pulling out all the stops by creating a custom kick for each NBA franchise.
The Diamond Anniversary celebration couldn’t be started any other way than by unveiling the icy blue and purple colourway for the LA Lakers franchise. A one-of-a-kind 75th-anniversary tongue tag, a diamond engraved lace clip and an effortlessly crisp dual-tone palette of baby blue and deep violet make this design easily one of the cleanest trainers of the month.
11TH OCTOBER – NIKE DUNK LOW ‘GOLDENROD’
Nike aren’t done with blessing us with new Dunk Low colourways as they’re set to release the ‘Goldenrod’ version of the trainer this month. This particular colourway was first introduced for American football team Iowa Hawkeyes back in 1985 as part of their ‘Be True To Your School Pack’, and has been revived to grace the Dunk model. Given the popularity of Dunks in recent times – especially the lows – we can expect this shoe to be well sought after!
21ST OCTOBER – JEREMY SCOTT X ADIDAS FORUM ’84 LOW ADV WINGS “MONEY”
Few designers have done more to establish the creative identity and construct the contemporary brand perception of Adidas than Jeremy Scott. The Moschino mastermind himself first stepped into the limelight in the late 2000s with the original series of winged 84’s, lows, and hightops made famous by his longtime muse and collaborator, Asap Rocky.
Now Scott has reinvented the archetypal angel wing by merging it into the mudguard to create a more harmonious overall design. The audacious and bravely bombastic graphic cash print is something to be marvelled at and will no doubt become a staple for numerous celebs this autumn.
22ND OCTOBER – NIKE AIR VAPORMAX PLUS
In true Frankenstein-like fashion, Nike has begun to create a fusion line that merges together two of their most successful constructions to create a brand new trainer altogether. The new Nike Air Vapormax Plus is a hybrid silhouette composed of a Nike Air Max Plus upper and the instantly recognisable base and cushioning of a Nike Vapormax.
Since its first imagining in 2018, the Vapormax hybrid had been one of Nike’s best selling designs due to the often alien and futuristic aesthetic of its side panelling and sole, with this pink, white black and lime green colourway looking the most extraterrestrial to date.
30TH OCTOBER – NIKE AIR FORCE 1 LOW “SKELETON”
Nike always pulls out the stops for its seasonal selection of classic silhouettes and much like the mistletoe-inspired design released last Christmas, this ‘Skeleton’ series is certain to be a sell-out this Halloween. The pure purple backdrop provided a certain level of stability that enable these shoes to transition to an everyday context without appearing to be satirical or out of place.
However, it is the Skeleton foot detailing, inspired by the wispy lines of graffiti tags that make this a truly unique design. A Skeleton’s favourite instrument may be a Trom-bone, but a skeleton’s favourite sneaker is unquestionably the new purple AF1 ‘Skeleton’ Low.
RUMOURED – GUNDAM UNICORN X NIKE SB DUNK HIGH
Inspired by the legendary Japanese anime series ‘Gundam’, Nike has brought to life a pair of SB Dunk Highs based on the series protagonist Banagher Links and his RX-0 Unicorn Gundam in Destroyer Mode. The anime stars Olympic gold medalist skateboarder Yuto Yorigome and U.S skating legend Paul Rodriguez, explaining why this collaboration falls under the SB umbrella.
This design comes in both white and red and features Nike’s new favourite accessory of an interchangeable and removable Swoosh that carries the same pattern of the horns seen on the Unicorn Gundam.