Summer 2019 Sneaker Review

This summer was filled with a lot of heat. And no we aren’t talking about the weather, we are talking about sneakers, kicks, trainers, gym shoes…do you get it? From May until the end of August, every weekend was jam-packed with hyped releases. From limited-edition drops to general release gems, a lot of shoes made noise in the streets and on StockX. Here are the shoes that we feel are highlights from a summer that was one for the books.

Most Valuable: Air Jordan 5 Retro Trophy Room “F&F” 

We are going to kick off this list with the most valuable shoe to release this summer, the Air Jordan 5 Retro Trophy Room “F&F”. Back in May, Jordan Brand teamed up with Marcus Jordan’s Trophy Room store for a new iteration of the Air Jordan 5. This collaboration came in two colorways: Ice Blue and University Red. The Ice Blue colorway was made available to the public, but the University Red pair was not. It is said that only 223 pairs were produced and gifted to friends and family of Jumpman and Trophy Room alike. You can see the scarcity of these sneakers reflected in their after-market value. The Trophy Room F&F 5s are the market leader in price and premium for 2019. These shoes averaged the highest resale price on StockX with a price of $5,176. This correlates to its status of having the highest premium at a whopping 2,488%. It’s hard to compete against a shoe with numbers like these when it comes time to make the case for MVP.

Best Seller (Men’s): adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Black (Non-Reflective)

Strength comes in numbers and nobody puts up numbers like Yeezy. This summer alone, nearly 150,000 pairs of Yeezys sold on StockX, and these are strictly summer releases. Leading the pack for Yeezy, as well as every other shoe to release this summer, is the adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Black (Non-Reflective). This 350 V2 has recorded more than 39,000 sales, leading the #2 best-selling shoe (another summer Yeezy release – the Lundmark) by 2,000 sales. The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 design has been releasing since 2016, so you would think after 30 colorways and an increase in quantity over the years that sales would slow down. Think again. Just when you think the hype is fading, Yeezus rises again and the legend continues. This shoe was a statement, solidifying the power and eternal hype of Yeezy as a brand and the 350 V2 design itself. 

Rookie of the Summer: Nike Sacai LD Waffles 

It’s not often that a brand new, never-before released design catches fire immediately. Jerry Lorenzo was able to do it with the Nike Air Fear of God 1; Tom Sachs did it with the Mars Yard; and this summer, Sacai found success with the Nike Sacai LD Waffle. The hype for these sneakers began to build as soon as they were spotted in Sacai’s Spring / Summer 2019 runway show during Paris Fashion Week. Some were skeptical about the functionality of the sneaker, but in the end, hype won.

After several release delays, the LD Waffles finally dropped on SNKRS at the end of May and sent the internet into a craze over their avant-garde mash-up of a silhouette. Both colorways averaged a substantial resale price of right around $450 over their first 3 months of sales. Lately, prices have gone even higher, with each colorway topping $600 on average for September, or 4x their retail price. With over 15,000 combined sales on StockX, both colorways of the Sacai LD Waffle proved the collaboration to be an instant classic and made the design a strong contender for 2019’s Rookie of the Year.

Most Hyped: Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott

A sneaker that needs no introduction, the Air Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott was without a doubt the most hyped release of the summer and potentially all of 2019. What can we say? Hello? This is the first time a musician has ever collaborated with Jordan Brand on the classic silhouette that is the Air Jordan 1. And not just any musician, either. We are talking about Travis Scott…La Flame…Cactus Jack himself!

This AJ 1 lived up to the hype, recording an average resale price of $1,083 and premiums of 519%. That’s an extraordinary price premium for such a widely-sold sneaker. After all, this wasn’t some small, friends & family release. Well over 20,000 sales of these shoes have been recorded on StockX over the past 4 months. It’s one thing for a shoe to do numbers in small quantities; but it’s a whole other ball game for a sneaker made for the masses to boast a 500+% premium. From the first on-stage looks to the series of surprise shock drops, the story surrounding this summer’s Travis Scott Jordan 1s is incredible and will go down in history. 

Best Seller (Women’s): Air Jordan 1 Satin Black Toe (W)

As history has shown, some of the best Air Jordan colorways release in women’s sizing only. This summer, the Air Jordan 1 Satin Black Toe (W) took the spotlight and put up big numbers, earning the top spot in women’s releases for total sold, average sale price, and price premium. There’s just something about a Black Toe colorway that makes people reach for their pocketbook, and the proof is in the data. The Satin Black Toe 1s only just released last month, and they’ve already racked up more than 18,000 sales and have done so while averaging a resale price of $788 and premiums of 393%. Based on the success of previous Satin releases, we predicted that these AJ 1s would go big, and they certainly proved us right. The Satin Black Toe owned the summer and at this rate, is on track to be the most-sold women’s release of the year.

Future Hall of Famer: Nike Air Force 1 Low Off-White MCA

Sometimes the most memorable players aren’t the ones who won the most rings or scored the most points, but the ones who left their own mark on history, writing a narrative to be passed on. This summer, Virgil Abloh took a victory lap after the marathon of his last decade. A decade filled with creating opportunities out of opportunities, beating the odds, and performing feats that have never been done before. This victory lap was Virgil’s “Figures of Speech” exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

This three-month-long exhibit celebrates Virgil’s genre-blending career with a collection of monuments from his journey. Along with the exhibit, a new installment of Virgil’s ever-growing Air Force 1 collection emerged. The Nike Air Force 1 Low Off-White MCA University Blue is a physical embodiment of not only the exhibit, but the road traveled. These shoes have averaged a sky-high resale price of $1,944 and price premiums of 1,196%. But the true value of these shoes can’t be captured in numbers alone. These shoes represent a shift in the culture and, at the same time, a celebration of it too.