Influencers Rank The Coolest Trainers Of 2018

Trainers aren't going away, despite numerous fashion writers hailing them "dead" over the last few years, and there's a subsection of the internet that will go to any length to get their hands on the latest designer collab.

What are trainer fanatics lusting after this year? Women's Wear Daily asked a group of influencers and collectors to name the releases they were most looking forward to in 2018 and the results were varied, but launches from Virgil Abloh and Kanye West are still some of the most anticipated.

Other drops to start saving for are apparently the Nike Air Jordan 1 women’s satin collection (cited by DeeDee Negron in New York and Sanne Poeze in Amsterdam) and the Nike ACG Mowabb x Comme des Garçons shoes (says Selma Kaci Sebbagh in Paris).

Meanwhile, the men in the know said it's worth keeping an eye on the Vans Authentic’s Off the Sticker Pack (Ray Polanco Jr. in Los Angeles), the Puma Venom Cell (said New York's Mike “Upscale Vandal” Camargo), the upcoming Fear of God x Nike collaboration (tipped by Tokyo's Landy), and the second iteration of the Roc-A-fella Nike Air Force 1s (according to the Dubai-based trainer collector Rashed Belhasa).

The top five pairs of 2018, according to WWD, are...

Release date: 21st June
Price: $160 (£120)

Release date: 9th June
Price: $220 (£165)

Release date: 23rd May
Price: $190 (£142)

Release date: Rumoured to be September
Price: $450 (£337)

Release date: 8th December
Price: $220 (£165)