Gary Warnett Picks the Best Sneakers of 2016

As the year 2016 comes to a close we’re reaching out to members of the footwear community that we respect to get their take on the year in sneakers. Next up is walking sportswear encyclopedia and Crooked Tongues veteran Gary Warnett.

(As told to Julian Jimenez)

I've been really interested in a lot of releases during the last six months. That said, there were far too many nondescript things out there. Choice is a good thing, but when that choice is so in thrall to a current look, it's tough to get excited. Making people jump through hoops to win the right to buy something is alienating too! I expected a lot more innovation, given that it was an Olympic year. Ultimately, bar most of the shoes I chose, some of the most appealing stuff was just a “Greatest Hits” with some really good reissues.

With a lack of overt innovation, and pretty much everything that could possibly be retroed already revisited, I'm interested to see where things go in 2017.

10. Reebok Revenge Plus Vintage

I tried to avoid straight up reissues here because it’s pretty obvious that Space Jams, Linens, NYCs and the Air Max 97 are classic, but this one caught me sleeping. It captures an era perfectly and I’m into how Reebok are delving into those archives to bring out stuff like this. This shoe is a detox against the current wave of trash collabs and sock-like facsimiles.

9. Nike Air Max Uptempo 97

I wanted these in 1997 and I couldn’t afford them. Now I can afford them, I can’t really pull off the original colors. The simpler makeups here are more accessible, even though they’re still as bulky as ever. I love how they make the sole the star. There was a time when the Uptempo line was as exciting to me as any Air Jordan ever was and they retain that magic. These are my mid-life crisis shoes.

8. Nike Air Max 96 II XX 'Goldenrod'

I should really have put the Zoom All Out here, but this stole its place. In all honesty, I never cared for this shoe when I saw it decades ago. I’ve assumed that this was the original Air Max 97 for years too; I never associated it with 1996. The original Air Max 96 was great, but it wasn’t for me on that Ultra tooling. I actually hated these when I saw them earlier this year, then I had a complete turnaround and became obsessed with them. If they were any more dad, they’d be paying child support.

7. Wood Wood x Adidas Ultra Boost

Ultra Boosts were everywhere again this year, and I loved how Wood Wood made these very low-key but managed to apply that subtle mismatch to stop them from getting dull. Wood Wood have always been some of the greatest collaborators in the world and these are the kind of thing I’ll probably break out long after the hype.

6. Kith Aspen RF x Adidas Trail Boost

This whole list is pretty untrustworthy. I haven’t been paying too much attention to collaborations because I stopped caring—forced themes, the same silhouettes, and shoes that were never, ever legit in the first place—but Kith has been making some power moves. Those New Balance 997.5s were great but this Trail Boost is some real progression. It’s good to see something different and new, plus trail is my favored shoe subgenre. Those two sets of stripes are some wild branding.

5. NikeLab Air Zoom Spiridon 'Olympic'

I loved and hated how these were U.S. exclusive, but this colorway was an incredible fit with the shoe. Best of all, it could have been a vintage makeup. If the shoe had dropped a year earlier back in the day, it could have been the best shoe released for Atlanta '96. These and the Roundel editions really did a good job of giving this model some extra identity.

4. Acronym x NikeLab Air Presto Mid

Just when I stopped caring about the Presto, Errolson Hugh creates this gem. It’s tough to apply extra identity to a classic, but he did it. It’s not as disruptive as his take on the Lunar Force, but it looks like a shoe should in 2016. It could be a prop from a James Cameron sci-fi actioner. Reebok deserve a nod here for that Alien Stomper release too. I like how even those leaks didn’t stop it hitting like it did. The marketing materials around it with Kostas Seremetis were great too.

3. Adidas Spezial ZX 400

The whole Spezial range is amazing. Some shoes aren’t made for me, but I respect it all and since Vans discontinued Syndicate I don’t think there’s a passion project from any other brand on this level. There’s something super British about this shoe, even though it’s so Germanic—maybe it’s that moody set of colors. I’ve pretty much lived in them since I got them. Plus, they’re the antidote to all the nonsense elsewhere. I’m getting old and the sneaker thing is a young person’s game. Over 30s in NMDs is not the move unless you’re Pharrell, so these feel age appropriate.

2. Supreme x Nike Air Max 98

Air Max 98s were pretty slept on in their day and they were superseded on the shelf by the other Air Max 98 pretty fast. Supreme giving these the “Prada America's Cup” and snakeskin treatment really embodied a certain era. Usually people will tell you, "You only bought these because they were a collab," but if these had been inline, rest assured, I would have lost my mind.

1. Adidas 3D Runner

Even though they weigh a lot, which sort of defeats the object of running in them, these things are spectacular. All the brands are into the 3D-printing thing, but I like how Adidas put it to work here. I’m convinced that in a decade or so, fake footwear will be made via pirated codes for printers at home rather than faraway factories. I’m kind of salty that I never got a pair, but the fact that they exist, and the potential for the future, keeps me happy. Considering that they went to retail (which wasn’t cheap) at less than they cost to make was interesting. That said, despite being expensive, I can’t imagine that the Nike HyperAdapt turns much of a profit at its price either. But in the case of both releases, it’s going to be interesting to see how they trickle down into a mass market form over time.