Our monthly series looks at the top releases from the best brands in athletic footwear. Whether you’re an avid sneakerhead or just looking for the perfect pair to complement your style, navigating the vast world of sneakers can be overwhelming. From understanding where to buy to decoding the latest trends, consider this your road map to finding the perfect pair.
For most of the country, March represents the changing of seasons from the harshness of winter to the warmth of spring. Flowers are starting to bloom, and temperatures are beginning to warm up to the point where the days are longer and more enjoyable. The world of sneakers represents that change as well. From Nike freshening up the linen to End Clothing getting us ready for wedding season, spring is on its way, and you’ll have plenty of footwear choices to enjoy all it has to offer.
The return of the ‘Flu Game’ 12s
Jordan Brand
Whether you believe the legend that Michael Jordan had the flu, the updated food poisoning narrative, or any other urban legends surrounding Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, one thing is sure: the black and red colorway of the Jordan 12 became a must-have. Dressed in a black leather upper with a red midsole, everything from the original 1997 release is here.
Release date: March 1
Retail: $210
Liberty London takes a floral approach
For those unfamiliar, Liberty London is a well-known, high-end department store based in the United Kingdom known for its floral patterns, and it has a history as far back as the 19th century. After releasing its first Adidas collab of the year in January, the lux retailer returns with a more subdued approach. A tan nubuck upper sits on top of a gum bottom, carrying up the shoe to form the midsole. Liberty London keeps the shoe’s minimalist approach intact by only featuring floral patterns on both the inner and outer three stripes and the shoe’s heel. Gold co-branding on the shoe’s tongue helps complete this simple but elegant design.
Release date: March 1
Retail: $160
Pharell beefs up the Adidas’ Superstar
Adidas
It’s always a tricky task when someone chooses to update an iconic design. However, for the past decade, Pharell Williams and Adidas have provided us with multiple fresh takes on classic silhouettes like the Stan Smith and Samba. Williams’ latest work sees him giving the Superstar some minor changes. This version features a more chunky upper, likely influenced by the bulky aesthetic of early ’00s skate shoes. Bright pink and yellow laces, the white and black pairs, respectively, complete the early ‘00s callback as they remind people of a time when lace swaps were popular.
Release date: March 1
Retail: $200
Converse celebrates 80 years of Tom & Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the prime example of never-ending beef. Celebrating their 80th anniversary of causing chaos for one another, the pair take their antics to a new medium in collaboration with Converse. The Chuck Taylor All-Star and Chuck 70 highlight some of Tom and Jerry’s best or worst moments across the four-pair release. Tom and Jerry can be seen peeking over the midsoles on one pair of Chuck Taylor All-Star while another pair highlights the various animation styles the show used over the years. This collection is a must-have for millennials and older generations who grew up watching the pair cause havoc.
Release date: March 6
Retail: $80 – $100
Going “Grey”
These monthly rundowns typically highlight colorful collaborations and shoes produced in low quantities. The “Core Grey” New Balance 992 is the opposite of those characteristics. New Balance does a good job of rotating specific models into retail for a while, then rendering them to the archives later for years. That’s been the case for the 992, a prototypical GADA shoe admired by former Apple leader Steve Jobs for its comfort and utility. Anybody still hanging on to pairs from the previous 2020-2022 run should rejoice at the chance to re-up on a fresh pair.
Release date: March 6
Retail: $199
End Clothing crafted wedding shoes
For years, many sneakerheads have found a way to work in their love for sneakers on their wedding day. Retailer End Clothing aims to give us a more traditional option for that special day. Using the Adidas Japan and Superstar models, End takes cues from conventional bride and groom attire. The Japan is a straightforward tribute to the use of lace on a bride’s dress. The groom is given the Superstar in formal black leather with a black lace cover to give the shoe the appeal of a proper dress shoe.
Release date: March 7
Retail: $170 (Superstar), $140 (Japan)
De’Aaron Fox shows love to “Lexington”
Just in time for March Madness, Curry Brand delivers a “Lexington” colorway of the Fox 1 as a nod to the Kentucky Wildcats, the college hoops team of the model’s namesake, San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox. The upper is drenched in a rich shade of blue and features the school’s signature checkerboard pattern on the heel and a monochrome placement on the fox tail strap. It’s yet another dope color scheme for a new signature model that’s had several strong ones already.
Release date: March 7
Retail: $120
A Bathing Ape meets Crocs
If we’ve come to expect anything from Japanese brand A Bathing Ape, it’s to expect the unexpected regarding brands and collaborations. The unexpected is precisely what we have here with Bape and Crocs combining forces to drop a fresh take on Classic Clogs. Bape’s now iconic camouflage pattern appears as expected in the blue, green and pink colorways. Completing the Crocs experience is Bape-specific Jibbitz, including Baby Milo, Shark, and Tiger.
Release date: March 8
Retail: TBA
The return of a rare retro runner
Nike
Initially released in 1997, the “Signal Blue” version of the Nike Zoom Spiridon is a thrice-in-a-lifetime shoe. That may seem like hyperbole, but the last time we saw this OG colorway was in 2005. If they wait another 20 years, most people reading this will be too old to wear cool shoes. Former Nike designer Christian Tresser designed the Zoom Spiridon and the Air Max 97, and both running shoes still look far ahead of their time, emphasizing clean, flowing lines and eye-catching metallic materials.
Release date: March 13
Retail: $160
Nigel Sylvester keeps building “Brick by Brick”
BMX rider Nigel Sylvester and Jordan Brand received a ton of free promo after the new “Brick by Brick” colorway of the Air Jordan 4 headlined a highly publicized train heist of nearly $2 million Nike sneakers. Every social share and news report by major outlets It’s clear Jordan is building up Sylvester to be its next best hypeman and so far, the relationship has yielded multiple hits. A big part of the success comes through the use of colors, and this collab utilizes a mix of firewood orange, cinnabar and sail that nails the nickname.
Release date: March 14
Retail: $225
Another perfect pink pair
After spending more than two decades as an illusive grail that often required the rare combo of having enough money and knowing the right person to obtain a pair, Nike decided to rerelease the “Linen” Air Force Ones last June. Eight months later, the classic pair gets a refresh. Instead of using buttery soft leather across the shoe’s upper, textured canvas becomes the show’s star and gives things a casual feel that’s perfect for the spring. Everything else about the shoe stays faithful to the original, which should help this take reach the level that the original did more than two decades ago.
Release date: March 20
Retail: $130
Jae Tips stays ‘Busy’
No one person has managed to put an entire brand on their back quite like Bronx-born designer Jae Tips has done with Saucony. Tips continues to use models from Saucony’s past; after using the Matrix silhouette for his last collab, the Jazz 9 is the base for his latest. As we’ve come to expect, bold colors are the star of the shoe, as the shoe’s upper is a mix of blue, yellow, orange and pink. A bright red midsole adds to the collection of colors and immediately grabs your eyes.
Release date: March
Retail: TBA
Joe Freshgoods and New Balance’s relationship has ‘Aged Well’
We’ve highlighted before how New Balance has shed the label of being boring dad shoes and has become one of the marquee names for collaborations. Chicago’s Joe Freshgoods has been at the heart and center of things for the past few years. The latest collaboration from the pair shows that they appreciate how things have improved with time. The 992 arrives dressed in various shades of pink, brown and orange across the upper of the shoes, while the midsole takes on a more traditional two-tone approach that New Balance is known for, with pink and white giving way to a black outsole.
Release date: Feb. 28
Retail: $220
Union LA brings back a favorite
Union Los Angeles
Frequent Jordan collaborator Union Los Angeles has made a name for themselves with their unique takes on Jordan silhouettes. Sneakerheads are still unsure how they feel about the Bephies Beauty Supply 1s. One of their more interesting concepts, the patchwork-inspired Jordan 1 released in 2018, was universally loved. The brand returns to that design idea by taking the heel collar from the Shadow colorway and stitching it on top of the Chicago colorway that features an aged midsole, creating a feel of a vintage thrift find.
Release date: Feb. 28
Retail: $200