THE JOURNAL
MR PORTER’s Sneakers Hot 10 is our regularly updated primer on the sneakers we think should be on your radar right now. It’s not your average hype list, so don’t simply expect a countdown of this month’s latest limited-edition Nikes, though they certainly have a place here. The sneaker market is increasingly diverse and caters to men of all stripes, so we’ve made the conscious decision to choose from as wide a range of designers and price points as possible. There’s something here for everybody.
New entries will be announced on Instagram, so follow @mrporterlive if you want to be the first to know.
Tom Ford Cambridge Leather
What?
Elevated kicks from the master of sleek menswear
When?
Out now
How much?
£690
Mr Tom Ford, the Texan high priest of refined luxury, turns his discerning eye to the classic low top with his Cambridge sneaker. The shape? Nothing you haven’t seen before, so if you like your sneakers to make a strong statement, these probably aren’t for you. If, on the other hand, you’re the kind of guy who’s accustomed to wearing whole-cut Oxfords during the working week and who doesn’t like to let his sartorial standards slip at the weekend, we highly recommend that you give the Cambridge a try.
Nike Air Max Tailwind IV
What?
_A timely comeback for one of Nike’s final designs of the 20th century _
When?
Out now
How much?
£140
If you were too busy playing with your Tamagotchi and worrying about the Millennium Bug to take advantage of the original release of Nike’s Tailwind IV in 1999, don’t fret. Thanks to Nike’s strategy of rereleasing its classic designs after two decades, you’ve now got another chance to enjoy the chunky retro appeal of this sneaker, which builds on the design language of its predecessors, the iconic Air Max 97 and Air Max Plus. What you’re looking at here is the Red Orbit colourway, its soft grey suede and white mesh upper marked with high-contrast red “ribs”.
Prada Milano 70
What?
Prada’s best sneaker in monochrome (finally!)
When?
Out now
How much?
£515
You can’t talk about luxury sneakers without paying due lip service to Prada. After all, the Italian brand practically invented them. Set up in the late 1990s with a young Mr Neil Barrett at the helm, its influential Prada Sport line pioneered the use of high-performance technical fabrics such as industrial nylon and Gore-Tex in high fashion, and launched the brand’s first sneaker, which was designed for Prada CEO Mr Patrizio Bertelli’s America’s Cup sailing team. The brand’s reputation as sports-luxe trailblazer is held up today by the Milano 70, a sleek, streamlined sneaker that’s now available in multiple colourways – none better than this classic Prada black nylon version.
Balenciaga Triple S
What?
A hi-vis version of the world’s most beloved ugly sneaker
When?
Out now
How much?
£650
Shock value never lasts. The outlandish soon becomes the everyday. Unless a product is rooted in meaningful design, it’s destined to become yesterday’s news. Two and a bit years into the life-cycle of Balenciaga’s Triple S, a triple-sole monster sneaker that prompted countless op-eds when it was first released in 2017, whatever shock value it once had has now all but dissipated. Good design is all it has left to rely on. It has that in spades, though, which is why, in 2019, we’re talking about it in terms of a modern classic rather than a passing fad.
The Triple S has become an ongoing design project of sorts for Balenciaga, which has kept the line-up fresh with countless new colourways and materials over the past couple of years, ranging from the understated – relatively speaking, at least – to the outlandish Franken-sneakers of 2018, which were constructed of two different colourways separated by a seam running down the middle of the shoe. This season’s latest arrival, in soft grey and with yellow accents, falls in the former camp. It’s still a Triple S – which is to say it’s still a huge, bolshy statement of a shoe – but it’s also about the most wearable and refined version we’ve seen from Balenciaga yet.
Brunello Cucinelli Panelled Sneakers
What?
Made-in-Italy sneakers from Brunello Cucinelli, one of the last true luxury brands left
When?
Out now
How much?
£590
What happens when you take Brunello Cucinelli’s famously obsessive approach to fabric and apply it to a pair of sneakers? Short answer: you get these. They’re nothing radically new in terms of shape, resembling any vintage low-top panelled sneaker that you might care to name. But you don’t go to Brunello Cucinelli for avant-garde design – it’s the fabric, as ever, that sets this brand, and these sneakers, apart. Constructed from panels of white leather, butter-soft navy suede and rip-stop cotton canvas, they’re like wearing the swatchbook of a luxury tailoring house on your feet. Only, more comfortable. And practical.
Vans OG Old Skool LX
What?
A bright-and-bold take on Vans’ classic skate shoe
When?
Out now
How much?
£65
Everyone’s owned a pair of Vans OG Old Skool sneakers at some point in their life, so what makes these special? The colours, of course. Red, yellow and green is one of the all-time classic colour combinations, and if you don’t agree then try telling that to the citizens of any of these countries, all of which have them on their national flag: Benin, Cameroon, Mali, Senegal, Grenada, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Ghana, Guyana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia… we could go on. Whether you wear them as a show of patriotism or just as a way of introducing a subtle pop of colour into your outfit, these sneakers are a welcome addition to the Vans stable – and to any man’s weekend wardrobe, for that matter.
Fear Of God 101
What?
A sleek suede skate shoe from one of Los Angeles’ hottest brands
When?
Out now
How much?
£460
Mr Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear of God for its in-demand collaborations with Nike, but the brand’s own line of sneakers deserve attention, too. Our pick of the bunch? The 101, a streamlined skate shoe set on thick rubber soles. This is a more premium product than the brand’s Nike collaborations, its higher price point reflecting a no-expense-spared approach to material sourcing and construction, while its looks are a little more low-key. In short, it’s closer to the true spirit of the Fear of God brand, which is all about a luxurious, grown-up take on streetwear. If that’s where you plant your personal style flag, this is a sneaker you won’t want to miss.
New Balance M1500
What?
A late 1980s classic made at New Balance’s facility in Flimsby, England
When?
Out now
How much?
£150
It’s a matter of opinion rather than fact, but there are plenty of sneaker aficionados who would tell you that the New Balance 1500 is the greatest silhouette that the New England brand has ever made. First released in 1989, it was the work of New Balance’s master sneaker designer Mr Steven Smith, a man also responsible for the New Balance 997 and the Reebok Instapump Fury (the latter of which was given a high-fashion reimagination just a couple of seasons ago by Vetements). Now produced in the company’s factory in the village of Flimby in Cumbria, a rural part of northern England, they’re still as much of a statement as they were 30 years ago.
Nike P-6000
What?
Nike’s chunky throwback to Pegasus models of the mid-2000s
When?
Out now
How much?
£95
The P-6000 is Nike’s retro-futuristic mash-up of old-school Pegasus models, combining elements of both the 2006 and 2008 iterations of the Beaverton brand’s all-time best-selling running shoe. The fact that this is what sneakers looked like in the mid- to late-2000s is a stark reminder of just how far sneaker design has come in the last few years; without Nike’s design notes, we’d have carbon-dated these to the turn of the millennium, perhaps even the late 1990s. How time flies. Released barely more than a decade on from the sneakers that inspired its chunky design, the P-6000 now has serious retro appeal.
Valentino Garavani Gumboy
What?
A super-luxe revisionist ugly sneaker from Valentino
When?
Out now
How much?
£490
The breadth of the sneaker category is such that, these days, there are even sub-species of styles to catalogue and classify. We designate this Gumboy model, from super-luxe Italian stalwart Valentino, the “refined dad sneaker”. Giving an inherently unsophisticated product a polished makeover is a typically tricky move, but is done here – note the pristine black leather, smooth suede panels and fluid white soles – with an uncommon finesse. For the man who knows what’s what but doesn’t feel any need to shout about it, these are it.