Since its launch in 2016, StockX has evolved from an eCommerce platform tailored to sneakerheads for buying and selling authentic collectible footwear from the industry’s biggest brands, into the leading global market for current culture. Today you can find everything from Pokémon cards to PS5s, KAWS collectibles to Kith apparel and accessories. In less than a decade, StockX has managed to become the spot where you can always cop the most highly coveted goods that you can’t find anywhere else. To celebrate our most recent rotation around the sun, we take a look back at the biggest releases from every year so far.
2016: Yeezy 350 v2 First Release Beluga
While the idea of StockX was conceived in 2015, the marketplace officially launched the following year in February of 2016. That same year, adidas continued its resurgence as one of the world’s leaders in the footwear space with one of their most recognizable collaborations with Ye, the very first Yeezy 350 v2 Beluga. The shoe offers ultimate comfort with its full-length Boost cushioning system while managing to avoid sacrificing style with a bold Solar Red band juxtaposed with a more modest Steel Grey/Beluga zebra-striped knit upper. The text “SPLY 350” can be found within the bright orange streak, which memorializes the official design of the shoe.
2017: Nike Off-White The Ten Collection
Few creative forces have managed to have the impact on our culture that the late Virgil Abloh was able to have. While his life’s work spans across several different mediums, his breakout in the sneaker industry was his 2017 OFF-WHITE collaboration with Nike known as The Ten. In the collection, Abloh took his deconstructionist DIY creative approach to ten of the most well-known Nike silhouettes. Within his creative process early on in the collection’s development, Abloh famously took an X-ACTO knife to remove pieces, and reconstruct each shoe from the collection in his unique vision.
While each shoe in The Ten has its distinct style and story behind it, there are themes throughout the collection. For example, the laces come with the words “SHOELACES” printed at their ends, while the inside of each shoe features a print specifically designed by Abloh that celebrates the nuances of the creative process that Abloh used in the construction of each shoe, as well as the location in which he worked on it. The collection is so important to the fashion industry as a whole, that in 2021 Abloh and Nike told the full story of the project in a book entitled, ICONS “THE TEN” Something’s Off.
2018: FOG Essentials First Release
In 2017, StockX began to expand outside of the realm of sneakers and added Streetwear as an official category to our catalogue with the first collection that you could cop being the Supreme Fall/Winter 2017 offering. A year later, fellow fashion brand Fear of God dropped their inaugural ESSENTIALS collection, which utilizes earth tone colours and a wider fit, allowing for the ability to easily layer the pieces. Since its debut, Fear of God ESSENTIALS has seen seasonal releases of shirts, hoodies, jackets, shorts, leggings, and more, that provide a complementary backdrop to any piece that you want to be the focal point of your fit. This is exemplified by the Fear of God Essentials Pullover Hoodie Applique Logo. Its minimalist design that sees the ESSENTIALS brandmark fade into the hoodie is par for the course with the collection and allows for you to build a look undoubtedly you.
2019: Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer Rookie #57
2019 saw the addition of trading cards on StockX, as the century-old hobby began to experience a renaissance with former collectors coming of age and reentering the space along with enthusiastic newcomers, contributing to the renewed interest in collectible cardboard. One of the first four cards offered on StockX was the Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer Rookie #57. While this Jordan rookie saw its release 33 years before being made available on StockX, there are very few cards as sought-after in the modern trading card hobby era (1980-present) as even Drake was ripping boxes of 1986 Fleer Basketball hunting for Jordan rookies earlier this year. While the 1984-1985 Star Basketball set was the first to hold licensed NBA Jordan cards, the 1986 Michael Jordan Fleer Rookie has transcended the hobby to become one of the most iconic trading cards ever produced and, to this day, is considered Jordan’s core rookie card.
2020: Sony PlayStation 5 PS5 Blu-ray Edition Console
As the years have passed, our culture has continued to evolve and StockX has continued to adapt every step of the way. One such evolution came when we introduced our electronics category in 2020 ahead of the launch of the next generation of gaming that came in the form of the Xbox Series X/S and Playstation 5 in November of 2020. While both have made their presence felt, the Playstation 5 has far and away been the more popular choice, and the data backs this up. Simply put, the Playstation 5 Blu-ray Edition Console (US Plug) has traded over 100,000 times on StockX since its release, making it the most traded non-sneaker product on the site during that stretch. With its world-class loading speeds thanks to its best-in-class solid-state drives, improved haptic feedback, and a lineup of a new era of games that dominate the conversation across multiple platforms, few items have ever had the cultural impact of the PS5 during their moments in time. Add to that the fact that the release was timed up with a global pandemic, and you can begin to understand the recipe for its cultural significance in our ever-changing cultural landscape.
2021: Jordan 11 Retro Cool Grey (2021)
No sneaker made the waves that the Jordan 11 Retro Cool Grey in December of 2021. The unveiling of the shoe marked the first proper retro since the Cool Grey 11s first burst onto the scene 20 years prior in 2001. The AJ11 was famously born in 1996 when Jordan himself went to famed sneaker designer, Tinker Hatfield, with a request to make a shiny basketball shoe in 1996. Hatfield took that request to heart and delivered the very first Air Jordan 11 to feature patent leather overlays, which provided the exact glisten that the GOAT was looking for. Five years later, while playing for the Washington Wizards, Jordan wore the first version of the shoe to don the now cult classic Cool Grey colourway. In 2020 the blogs buzzed with news of the near-perfect replica retro of the original Cool Greys and, since its release just seven months ago, the shoe has traded over 115,000 times on StockX which only helps to further coronate the Cool Grey 11s as a cultural curio.
2022: Swatch x Omega
While we are only halfway through 2022, nothing has been able to match the hype of the collaborative effort between luxury watchmaker Omega and the historically more price-friendly brand Swatch. Owned by the same parent company, both entities have a rich history in the world of watches, but few have garnered the attention of the recent release of the Swatch x Omega Bioceramic Moonswatch. Upon its release in early April, the watches in the collection sold out nearly instantly online and in stores with mass chaos breaking out at certain retailers.
The passionate reaction brought on by this release can be attributed to the historical significance of the Swatch x Omega collaboration. The design is based upon the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, which is known for being the first-ever timepiece worn on the moon. While a traditional Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch will run you around £5,000, the Swatch x Omega Moonswatch has a much more affordable £200 retail price but holds many of the same design details as to its predecessor. For example, the Moonswatch contains the same “dot over 90” detail on the tachymeter scaled bezel and near-identical chronograph and sub-dial placement. Additionally, the Swatch x Omega Moonswatch collab offers 12 different colourways that pay tribute to 11 different extraterrestrial destinations, plus a final option inspired by Earth. If you missed out on the initial release, don’t fret, the two watchmakers have plans to restock the watch at select Swatch stores in the future.
