Welcome to SNX DLX, our weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. Today is the first official day of the Fall season, which unfortunately means the sneaker drops are slowing to a crawl. To call this week a slow one is putting it lightly unless you’re a Jordan or Yeezy fan. But that’s almost every week of 2021 so far, isn’t it? Try to look at the sparse output with a glass half full perspective, this is a good time to give your wallet a break and to convince your friends and family that you’re not some kind of psychopath who spends hundreds of dollars on shoes per week.
While this week is a smaller one, that doesn’t mean Nike or Adidas aren’t dropping some absolute fire, this week’s biggest release is hands-down the return of the Air Jordan 5 Oreo, which we named one of the sneaker’s best colorways a couple of weeks back., and Adidas is bringing us new Yeezys and the latest Sean Wotherspoon collection. So let’s stop talking about it and just dive into the week’s best sneaker drops.
Nike Dunk Low Grey Fog
The SB Dunk is Nike’s laziest sneaker silhouette. Because it has such an instantly iconic shape, all Nike ever does is change the panel and base colors, and call it a day. Drops like last year’s Chunky Dunky or Grateful Dead Dunks are about as exciting a remixed as this sneaker ever gets. Most of the time we get what this week’s Grey Fog iteration is offering — more of the same in a new color.
Having said all that though… the Grey Fog is a pretty cool look. This neutral colorway combines white and light grey colors across a leather base, it’s so low effort and yet effortlessly cool that you’d think Virgil Abloh designed it. Ha.
The Nike Dunk Low Grey Fog is out now for a retail price of $100. Pick up a pair at Nike or your favorite aftermarket site like StockX.
Air Max 95 Smoke Grey
If you’ve always wanted an Air Max 95 but haven’t found a colorway you love yet, this week is the time to pull the trigger because this is the one! Not only is the Smoke Grey Air Max 95 a great colorway, it combines a black to white gradient with bright red accents and looks straight out of a ‘90s anime, but it’s also the stuff of sneakerhead legend, this is one of the best and most coveted colorways the sneaker has ever been given.
Unfortunately, its massive popularity means you won’t be able to find it at Nike. It dropped this morning and has already disappeared from the SNKRS app. So you’ll have to hit up your favorite aftermarket site to pick up a pair.
The Air Max 95 is out now for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair at aftermarket sites like StockX.
Air Jordan 1 Prototype
Nike is taking inspiration from the Jordan 1 blueprints for an interesting new semi-deconstructed take on the silhouette that they are dubbing “Prototype.” If you’re more about low-top Jordans than high (who are you?) Nike has provided a product style perforation guideline so you know where to cut them.
It’s an interesting idea, and the sneakers will probably still look great when the contrasting blue collar is cut off, but how many people are actually going to do that? I’m not taking a knife to my Jordans, I’ll leave that to the customizers.
The Air Jordan 1 Prototype is set to drop on September 24th for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or at GOAT.
Air Jordan 5 Moonlight (Oreo)
If you’re going to buy one pair of sneakers this week, you’d be crazy to not at least try to scoop up a pair of the re-released Air Jordan 5 Oreo, or “Moonlight” as Nike is calling the colorway now. In fact, even if you’re not looking for new sneakers (why are you here?) it wouldn’t be crazy to shoot your shot on the Nike SNKRS app during drop day because this is hands down a top 10 Jordan 5 colorway. Of. All. Time.
The Moonlight features a black suede upper with a contrasting white midsole and a speckled black and white shark tooth, meant to evoke a star-filled night sky according to Nike. Or you know, cookies and cream. Without a doubt, this is the drop we’re most excited by for the whole year of 2021, so be prepared for us to talk about it again on our year-end best sneakers of 2021 list.
The Air Jordan 5 Moonlight (Oreo) is set to drop on September 25th for a retail price of $190. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or at aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
Sean Wotherspoon x Adidas Originals SUPERTURF Jiminy Cricket
Sean Wotherspoon is one of the wackiest and most exciting sneaker designers out there. He made corduroy a viable sneaker material and his Adidas Superstars looked like what would happen if Jackson Pollock ever got his hands on some yarn, but we never would’ve imagined that for his next sneaker he’d deliver us a shoe with an embroidered Jiminy Cricket on the tongue. And yet here we are.
The SUPERTURF is weird, to put it mildly. It’s a brand new silhouette based on Adidas Response Hoverturf and features an upper composed of 20% recycled polyester, plus a zip-enclosure tongue, beige, blue, and green panels with an orange and black speckled mudguard. It’s super textured like all of Wotherspoon’s sneakers and, thankfully, this isn’t a sneaker that’s all about selling us Disney, despite the inclusion of Jiminy Cricket.
The Jiminy Cricket is merely an emblem of Wotherspoon’s childhood memories of the “Please Recycle” cans at Disneyland, which also featured the conscious cricket. Wotherspoon and Adidas no doubt had to give Disney licensing credit for using Jiminy but at least there isn’t noticeable Disney branding throughout, distracting from the design. This sneaker still feels very Wotherspoon.
This is an odd one for sure, but we’ve spent three paragraphs now talking about it so Wotherspoon clearly continues to be one of the most interesting designers in the sneaker space.
The Sean Wotherspoon x Disney x Adidas SUPERTURF Jiminy Cricket is set to drop on September 25th alongside a matching apparel collection for an unannounced price. Pick up a pair exclusively at the Adidas webstore.
Adidas YZY KNIT RNR Sulfur
Never in a million years, and please, hold me to this, would I ever buy or wear a pair of YZY KNT RNRs. These straight-up look like something your grandma would knit for you, but if I’ve learned anything in my time as a sneaker writer it’s that you should never write off a Kanye West idea. While his new music is increasingly giving diminishing returns, he’s firing on all cylinders still when it comes to sneakers.
Everybody, and I mean everybody, thought the Yeezy Foam Runner looked stupid before it came out, and now it’s one of the most popular silhouettes in the Yeezy lineup, and even well-respected sneakerheads across the scene swear by them.
So while I’d never be caught dead wearing these, you might love them! If you plan on picking up this week’s KNIT RNR drop you should know that Yeezy Supply is telling everyone to order 1/2 a size up from your normal size for the ideal fit.
The YZY Knit RNR Sulfur is set to drop on September 23rd for an unannounced price, but I mean how much could this thing cost? Pick up a pair exclusively at Yeezy Supply, the release clock is already ticking!
Adidas Yeezy Boost 700 V2 Mauve
Not digging on the KNIT RNR? We feel that, so for all us basic people who refuse to embrace the future, Yeezy is also dropping a more standard-looking sneaker — a new colorway of the 700 v2 silhouette dubbed, “Mauve.” It features a prime knit upper with suede paneling and reflective details on top of a matching chunky midsole.
On a normal week we’d be excited about this autumnal toned Yeezy, but releasing alongside the Knit RNR, it just feels a little uneventful.
The Yeezy Boost 700 V2 Mauve is set to drop on September 25th for a retail price of $240. Pick up a pair exclusively at Yeezy Supply.
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.