These Are the Best Shoes of 2025
Shoes are good right now. We went through a lot to get here, but it was worth it. A real destination-not-journey situation.
For one thing, there’s the “sneakers are dead” discourse. Has the market cooled off? Certainly. Has the brand pyramid been reordered in some surprising and interesting ways? Yes. And do I personally wear sneakers less than I did when Supreme was still on Lafayette Street? Doesn’t matter. The point is that, in fashion, things die and come back to life in a continuous cycle that’s been happening all along.
Then, we all went crazy for loafers. That was fun. The loafers got weird, which was cool. Then loafers became sneakers, which was a bridge too far for me but was actually a symptom of something occurring more broadly across the footwear landscape: all kinds of new shapes started to emerge. Miu Miu’s radically stripped-down New Balances introduced a flat-shoe wave that I don’t think would have happened without the preceding loafer moment. Before that, we had back-to-back summers of the Samba. A perfectly good shoe — I still wear the JJJJound made-in-Germany version. But a shoe that seems to have left many people wanting more. Or less, actually. Because all of the Samba people seem to have become skinny Dries sneaker people.
All of which means that the table was set for 2025 to be a year of good shoes. When I started this list, I was surprised to find that it contained a mix of shoes that are totally new to me, and shoes that have been around for a long time but feel cool in a totally new way. Really makes you think.
So, how did I decide on the best shoes of the year? First, they’re mostly shoes that I own (two of them aren’t out yet). So I’m thinking about how it feels to wear them, both in terms of comfort and overall on-foot aesthetic. I’m also taking into consideration the look and feel of the shoe on its own and thinking about design and materials purely from a product perspective. And lastly, I’m taking into consideration the story behind each shoe — where it’s made, who made it, who it’s for, etc. In other words, there’s a bit of personal bias.
These are the best shoes of 2025, as chosen and ranked by me and no one else.
Birksenstock 1774 Uerzell Suede
Hanwag x eye_C Gritstone GTX
I’d never heard of Hanwag — a German hiking shoe brand that’s been around for more than 100 years — until I saw these. As an outdoors enthusiast and a lover of technical footwear, this lapse was alarming. I love everything about this shoe: its flawless execution on materials and colors, its comfort, and its interesting and unique toebox shape.
Mephisto x Body of Work Mephisto Match
By now I should just admit it: I love a brown suede shoe. I also love Mephisto. Sometimes the best collab is about simply making a really good thing that doesn’t already exist.
Everyone adidas Stan Smith
*Air horn* I saw this unreleased Stan on IG the other day and immediately started blowing up the homie, Everyone founder Ryo Miyoshi. He shared a sneak preview and told me that the shoes will be out later this month, along with a bigger adidas collab drop. But I’ve seen enough to know that I’m way back in on Stans. Love that buttery, broken-in suede.
District Vision x New Balance Minimus MT10
This shoe is my personal version of that Miu Miu New Balance I wanted so bad but couldn’t afford. They’re surprisingly comfortable and cool-looking but also feel weird and tactical like those Vibram toe shoes.
Brain Dead x adidas Barricade 13
Most tennis collabs are not for tennis. The good homie Kyle Ng was brave enough to actually make a performance shoe, and not just any shoe. The Barricade is a legend of the sport and my personal on-court shoe of choice.
MAN-TLE R19V1 “Aurora Low” Black Horween
The best — and only — shoes made in New York, by way of Perth. This subtle tweak to the iconic “Middle English” shoes tones down the Pilgrim vibe with a thicker sole and blacked out hardware.
Gino Iannucci x ASICS Leggerezza FB
Asics’ move into skateboarding has been warmly received, mostly because the shoes are good, the god Gino Iannucci is on board, and their first full-length skate video is a certified banger. This shoe scratches my Samba itch in a navy leather colorup that I didn’t see coming.
J. Crew x Vans Premium Authentic
This is a shoe I like in a very specific way: dirty, unlaced, no socks, 2.5 beers deep.
Haven x Hoka Evo Stinson GTX
Just when I thought I’d had enough of the thick sole runners, Haven drops the aggressive waterproof sneaker of the year. The Stinson OG is a really good trail shoe. I’ve actually climbed a few small mountains in it. Haven just made it look better than ever.
Blackbird Spyplane x Tarvas x Nitty Gritty Moss Wanderers
This shoe definitely gets first prize for best name of the year. And wandering in the moss is exactly what they make me want to do.
Converse Our Legacy Workshop Chuck 70
One thing about many of my favorite shoes from this year is that they have some kind of interesting shape or treatment on the sole. I’m not sure what that means. But the Chuck 70 is a mainstay for me, and the heavily skewed foxing strip on the inside of the foot somehow completely transforms this shoe. Small detail = huge impact.
Regal Shoe & Co x Nonnative Marine Moc
Under the design direction of Takayuki Fuji, Japanese brand Nonnative has become the sleeper powerhouse of shoe collabs. Asics, Mizuno, Timberland, Guidi — they all slap. But this one is my fave. Regal, out of Shibuya, makes sturdy traditional shoes using Gore-Tex. This shoe obviously references the Timberland 3-Eye Lug — an iconic shoe and a personal all-time favorite — but improves it in almost every possible way. I especially like the chunky tri-tone sole.
Village PM 1PM Chocolate
I’m not generally interested in clever hybridizations. And when it comes to skate shoes, I tend to have very conservative tastes. But the fellas at Village PM really cracked the code here by making a skate shoe with big-mountain climbing shoe tech. For me it’s the clean lines and choice materials. This is the shoe I’ll wear to kickflip over the Matterhorn.
