We’re barely three months in, but as far as sneakers are concerned, 2025 has already been one for the books. From signature hoops bangers and all-time great retros to landmark designer collaborations and under-the-radar technical masterpieces, it feels like a year’s worth of heaters had already hit before the clocks sprung forward for daylight savings. While there are plenty of major drops still to come throughout the summer and fall, now feels as good a time as any to take stock of the best sneakers of 2025 so far. —Tres Dean
Supreme x Nike Air Max 1
Supreme and Nike have been working together for 23 years now, but somehow the legendary duo had never released an Air Max 1. That all changed in March with a quartet of clean, summer-ready takes on the quintessential runner—in purple, yellow, black, and white—all rendered in smooth leather and offset by a touch of snakeskin print on the swoosh. It’s a successful back-to-basics reset—one that’s made us far more curious about what the pair might cook up next than we have been in ages.
Adidas Harden Volume 9
It’s rare to see an athlete’s signature line get the sort of reinvigoration James Harden’s has in the last couple of years. The design language of his shoes headed in a far more avant-garde direction around the seventh incarnation, and this season’s Harden Volume 9 is easily the boldest pair the superstar has ever stormed the court in. The molded, chromed-out uppers call to mind ’90s-era Nike hoops classics like the Air Foamposite and Air Flightposite in the best possible way.
Prada Collapse Re-Nylon
Sometimes less really is more. Case in point: Prada’s new Collapse Re-Nylon kicks, an instant-classic entry in the minimalist sneakers canon. And unlike most designer sneakers, you can actually pull these off without looking like you’re trying to flex a logo.
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