These are the trainers you'll be wearing in 2018

These are the trainers you'll be wearing in 2018

New year, new loan, new kicks. Sneaker royalty himself Franklin Boateng is here to tell us what should be on our feet in 2018.

Yo! So, ok I know you haven’t got much left from your student loan and you’re waiting for the next loan to drop so you can stunt on your friends for the rest of the term… but the King is here to give you a heads-up on what to spend your money on when your wire arrives.

5. Damn, Gundam

 

If you are into sneakers and haven’t had your head in your textbooks for the past month, you may have noticed that 2018 is the 20th Anniversary of the Nike Sportswear Air Max ’98 – and Nike is going to flood the market with this release. The OG shoe, originally released in 1998, returned last month in the famous ‘Gundam’ colourway (named after its resemblance to the anime character, and very popular with the Italian world cup team at the time)... and sold out in around 48 hours. But you just might find some on eBay for a good price if you’re lucky.

The Air Max 98 ‘Gundam’ has definitely set the pace for an onslaught of Nike 98 retro releases, and for that reason definitely earns a place in my list for 2018.   

 

 4. Join the Human Race

 

For the past couple of years Kanye West has dominated the Adidas roster with consecutive releases of his massively popular Boost series. However, the hype really died down towards the back end of last year and the thirst for a new age Ugg shoe just isn’t quite as strong... so in steps in another musical great, the one and only Pharrell Williams.


By no means in the shadow of Mr West, Williams has collaborated with many, many brands before – and for 2018 Adidas will be pushing his Human Race shoe in many different variations (including a pretty distinctive ‘Afro’ pack). Make sure you look out for more from his collection, and good luck getting your hands on a pair.

 

 3. Having a Bubble 

 

I had the privilege of being one of the first people in the world with a pair of Air270s – the tallest Air Bubble ever, it’s going to take 2018 (or 20-AIRTEEN) by storm. Nike are banking on this model as one of their new flagship models and did a whole press conference last year to launch it. They have plenty of pairs of these coming, so you better get ready to bounce.

 

2. God-given style

 

One of last year’s major trends was collaboration. We saw Virgil Abloh lead the storm with his Off White ‘The Ten’ Nike collab, followed by UK newcomers A-COLD-WALL with their amazing AF1 collaboration – also with Nike. And in 2018 it’s the turn of a gentleman named Jerry Lorenzo. The founder of LA-based fashion brand Fear of God, he’s collaborated with Vans in the past, but now Nike has put in the call and it looks like the result will be a brand new Air Presto  and a whole range of clothing, propelling Jerry and his brand to household name status. Or halls of residence name, at least.


Sadly no image has been released for this one yet, but keep your guys peeled because this spring/summer they’re set to be everywhere.

 

1.  The Marmite hybrid

 

A hybrid shoe that I’ve already hailed as a future classic, the Nike Vapormax Plus is the shoe you WILL be seeing all over your campuses soon – if not already.


Made in celebration of the 20th anniversary of street favourite the Nike TN, it’s a Footlocker exclusive that mashes the classic up with one of Nike’s new fitness models, the Vapormax. The outcome is a crazy hybrid currently dividing sneakerheads, who can’t decide if they love it or hate it. Priced at £170 it’s an extravagant purchase, but for those of you who are balling (or have passed your first set of exams for the year and can legit ask for them as a present) they’re an investment you won’t regret.


Before I go – when I was a student every little piece of information helped, so here’s a heads-up. I’ve just launched Footwear Jobs, the first website in the world dedicated to sharing opportunities in the footwear industry – covering all the major brands and retailers, from work experience to head office positions and everything in between. So if you’re interested in footwear opportunities, be sure to check us out and give us a follow @FootwearJobs. 

Royal Regards,

Franklin Boateng – AKA @KingOfTrainers.

 If none of these take your fancy (or more likely, they're all sold out) be sure to check out our men's and women's trainers on site now.