My 15 Favorite Shoes of 2023
The Year of the Non-Sneaker
Of all the Best Sneakers lists I’ve written over the years, 2023 has been the most contemplative. Not because it was hard to identify good design and interesting stories, but because of how the sneaker market fared overall.
The shoe industry is weathering an identity crisis, defending itself against an onslaught of existential threats. Much of this is the pendulum’s response from a decade of streetwear proliferation, climaxing in the pandemic boom. There’s consumer fatigue and only so much space in your closet. There’s been a shift in DTC mechanics. Over the last several years, brands deferred to digital and data, doubling down on direct sales while neglecting the importance of culture, community, and the human experience. The secondary marketplace became the primary market, which has resulted in resale fallout.
Design feels stagnant when brands recycle the same retro models over consecutive generations. Did MSCHF dominate the headlines because of its shoes’ meme appeal or was its W more a reflection of everyone else’s shortcomings? Put a different way, if the legacy sneaker brands performed better, would the Big Red Boot have gotten as noisy as it did?
Speaking of design, new fashion trends have also impacted consumer perspective on limited edition sneakers. Ballet flats, Mary Janes. It’s now been a full cycle since Virgil declared streetwear as dead. SHEIN and secondhand are the new Supreme. When your vintage JNCOs cover your shoes, how much do they matter anyway?
As we wean off the pandemic glut and try to stomach inflated home, gas, and food prices, we are also rethinking mindless consumption and being more intentional with our purchases. “Do I really need this?” Will some beat up AF1s suffice? Are my old silver Asics as good as the new silver Asics? Thus,
2023 was the year of the non-sneaker.
Merrells, mules. Thug Club X Fila horns and Crocs cowboy boots. I think the footwear I donned most this year was the Birkenstock Boston. Comfortable, yes. On-trend, always. But oftentimes, fashion choices are statements. This year, sandals, slides, and viral art footwear proclaimed abstinence from the sneaker race. After years of making sense of gorpcore trail runners, Panda Dunks, and loafers, the most non-shoe-looking-shoe wins. It’s agnostic fashion that says, “I’m sitting this one out.”
The question is, when, why, and how would you return?
Here are (some of) my Top 15 sneakers of 2023: