Welcome to SNX DLX, our weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. After a slow week that saw Nike almost completely eliminated from our list of the top kicks, the Swoosh is back with a vengeance — once again dominating with a few hyped-up collaborations and a couple of Air Jordans. But Nike hasn’t taken over yet, the other brands are still holding their own and the biggest surprise of the week has got to be the skate-focused four sneaker collection from NOAH and Vans. That release is the clear highlight of this week’s SNX DLX, combining both brand’s skatewear heritage with an autumnal color palette that speaks to the season.
After shopping the shoes, be sure to hit up our list of the streetwear brands you need on your radar for the rest of 2021 to help complete the look. Let’s dive in!
Fragment Design x Sacai x Nike LDWaffle Light Smoke Grey
This three-way sneaker collaboration between legendary Japanese designers Chitose Abe, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Nike is one of the most hyped releases of the week and you probably woke up early this morning hoping to cop a pair only to be let down once again by the notorious SNKRS app. Don’t take it too hard, taking an “L” on SNKRS is a right of passage for every sneakerhead. It happens to the best of us.
This sneaker sees the designers behind Sacai and Fragment take on the LDWaffle silhouette and features touchstones from both brands, like Sacai’s double-stacked design aesthetic, and Fragment’s love for all things woven. The upper is made from a mix of understated grey mesh with suede overlays with a leather swoosh and the whole thing rides on a grippy waffle-traction outsole.
The Fragment Design x Sacai x Nike LDWaffle Light Smoke Grey is out now for a retail price of $170. The sneaker is clean sold out at Nike so hit up aftermarket sites like GOAT or Flight Club to cop a pair.
Adidas Yeezy YZY DSRT BT Rock/Oil
Yeezy Brand is gearing up for the fall by trading in the slides for two new autumnal colorways of the chunky heavy-duty DSRT BT. Dropping in an earthy Rock or Oil colorway, the DSRT Boot combines a suede and mesh upper with a monochrome triple-dipped colorway.
Not much here to say about this design, if you love Yeezy Boots, you’re going to dig these.
The Adidas Yeezy YZY DSRT BT Rock and Oil are out now for a retail price of $200. The sneaker is sold out at Yeezy Supply and Adidas so you’ll have to pick up a pair at aftermarket sites like StockX.
Sacai x CLOT x Nike LDWaffle Orange Blaze
Not feeling the understated qualities of that Fragment x Sacai LDWaffle? Nike has a louder version for you that see’s Chitose Abe collaborating with CLOT, swapping out that mesh upper for a more futuristic semi-transparent overlay with a bold and bright Orange Blaze colorway that nods to the art of reflexology charts.
The double-layer swoosh in this Sacai x Clot LDWaffle features a combination of reflective materials and snakeskin, double-layered tongues and rides atop a waffle outsole. I like it just a hair better than Fragment’s take but this design feels a little more fit for summer than the somber months of fall.
The Sacai x CLOT Nike LDWaffle Orange Blaze is out now for a retail price of $170. It’s sold out on SNKRS so hit aftermarket sites like StockX to cop a pair.
NOAH x Vans Vaballero VLT LX/ Authentic One Piece VLT LX
Vans is very much the underdog of SNX DLX, but occasionally the So-Cal icon teams up with a streetwear giant and produces something that we just can’t ignore, like this collaboration between Vault by Vans and NOAH.
This collection sees the New York-based brand take on the Vans Caballero and Authentic silhouettes, producing three different iterations of the latter, infusing a little east coast style into west coast shapes. Each sneaker’s upper is composed of suede with the Caballero sporting a spruce colorway and a simplified padded collar, and the Authentic getting a Black, Cashew, or Spruce treatment, with removed seams at the toe-cap for a subtle change-up to the original, creating a clean one-piece design.
Each sneaker from the set was built with skating in mind and should hold up to considerable abuse, despite looking like kicks you can wear to a formal event.
The NOAH x Vans Caballero VLT LX/ Authentic One Piece VLT LX is set to drop on September 16th for a retail price of $98 for the Caballero and $88 for the Authentics. Pick up a pair exclusively at NOAH.
Nike WMNS Air Jordan 14 Low Iconic Red
Nike is clearly feeling a little insecure about this Jordan 14, which was originally identified as “Lipstick Red.” Someone must’ve told Nike that connecting lipstick to a WMNS exclusive pair of shoes was a bad look because now they’re calling it “Iconic Red,” which is fine. Ultimately we don’t care what the shoes are called, but it’s funny to see Nike scramble in the laziest way possible.
What makes it lazy? Nike forgot to update their own description for the shoe, which reads “Everyone loves the perfect shade of red. Symbolizing strength, passion, and love, where you see red, you can feel the natural confidence the color expresses.” That sounds like a description for a shoe called “Lipstick Red,” plus look at the thing, that deep and bold crimson shade of red looks like lipstick. Just own it Nike, all colorway names are silly, last year you dropped the Chunky Dunkies!
The Jordan 14 Iconic red features a black matte nubuck leather upper with bold accents in Gym Red with Metallic Platinum lace aglets, and a speckled black midsole rounding out the design. It’s a fresh take on the 14 and it single-handedly makes the case that Air Jordans in the double digits are worth more time than people give them credit for.
The WMNS Air Jordan 14 Low Iconic Red is set to drop on September 16th for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
BAIT x Cowboy Bebop x Adidas Consortium Matchplay
California-based streetwear retailer BAIT has a history of paying tribute to iconic anime series’ and as people who see the clear connection between modern streetwear and vintage anime, we’re here for it. They’ve already hit the vintage racing anime Initial D and a couple of months back they dropped a One Punch Man-inspired sneaker, and now this week they’re hitting the legendary Cowboy Bebop a few months before its live-action debut on Netflix.
Utilizing the Consortium Matchplay silhouette, this sneaker features a smooth black leather upper with a vulcanized sole alternating red and blue heel tabs, and branding that includes BAIT’s logo, Adidas’, and the script logo for Cowboy Bebop in Japanese and English.
The BAIT x Cowboy Bebop x Adidas Consortium Matchplay are up for raffle at BAIT. Move quickly, because the winners will be notified by September 18th. Winners will receive a payment link.
Air Jordan 13 Obsidian
It’s a week for double-digit Jordans! Not only are we getting the Jordan 14 Iconic Red, but Nike is also delivering the must-cop Jordan 13 Obsidian. Featuring a white tumbled leather upper and the 13’s dimpled overlays — which always reminded me of a couch — the Obsidian combines Dark Powder Blue and Obsidian paneling atop a herringbone rubber outsole and stability-improving carbon fiber shank plate.
The Air Jordan 13 Obsidian is set to drop on September 18th for a retail price of $190. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or at aftermarket sites like GOAT.
PUMA x Animal Crossing New Horizons Collection
This collection feels a little late since it’s been over a year since the entire country was deep into an obsession with all things Animal Crossing, but whatever, we’ll take it, these are some of the freshest PUMAs we’ve seen in a while.
The full collection features PUMA’s Wild Rider, Suede, Future Rider, and Leadcat Sandals all dressed in ACNH’s recognizable teal, on beige, on foggy pink color scheme. Each sneaker features subtle details that callback to some of the series’ most recognizable characters and icons, but never in a way that feels heavy-handed or too branded, so even if you aren’t up on your ACNH lore, you can still dig these. The footwear collection releases alongside a full apparel collection.
The PUMA x Animal Crossing New Horizons Collection is set to drop on September 18th in a retail range of $40-$110. Shop the collection at PUMA.
Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.