You know what they say – and by “they”, we refer to someone, somewhere, once, surely? – new year, new shoes. Well, what better way to kick off 2021 than with a fresh pair of kicks? Brace yourself for a bright addition to the Yeezy roster, a reissued classic that played its part in creating modern sneaker culture, not to mention an edifying take on the Nike Dunk, which also makes us a bit peckish. Janus, the god of beginnings, may have more than one face, but he certainly had two feet. For more, step this way.

“Does an angel contemplate my fate?” Mr Robbie Williams once pondered. Such is the destiny of the latest iteration of the Yeezy 700 V3, in a colourway originally billed as Srphym, seraphim being the highest class of angel. The name, another biblical reference from Mr Kanye West, fell out of favour and now here it is, relabelled Safflower, a more grounded, thistle-like bloom. The sneaker’s cage still boasts a rather celestial yellow tone (certainly bright for the Yeezy line), with orange accents, a monofilament black technical mesh base and snug sock-like inner liner. No angel would fear to tread in a pair of these.

Snakes on a plane! Well, an Air Force 1, at least. The final instalment of the CO.JP Air Force 1 B triptych, the 3M Snake colourway features reflective silver overlays on black tumbled leather with a snakeskin-style Swoosh. What began as a series of small-batch experiments for the Japanese market in the dotcom era gained a cult following in the US and, with its reinvention of the Dunk, the CO.JP line helped kickstart modern sneaker culture as we know it. This reissue, originally from 2001, could be seen as a throwback, but perhaps provides a launch pad for what is still possible when it comes to Nike’s 1980s OG air-cushioned basketball shoe. A shining example, even.

Perhaps ironically, the latest version of the Dunk, in a shade called Curry, is not the spiciest colourway Nike’s celebrated basketball-cum-skate shoe has sported in recent times. As a caveat, it is labelled Medium Curry. And curry, since its adoption outside southern India, where it was originally used to denote sauces made using the curry leaf, has become something of a catch-all term that shouldn’t necessarily be linked to heat. But we digress. This premium upgrade of the beloved silhouette comes instead in a subdued tonal arrangement, with the aforementioned brown layered on crisp white Sail with the Swoosh and panelling in Fossil (we guess a bit like bone, but more like beige). A quietly refined take on the legendary sneaker.