As we cross the midway mark of the year, the SNKRDUNK team came together and rounded up the 10 Best Sneakers of 2023 so far and unveiled a list of the bestselling Dunks on the SNKRDUNK app. To give you a better overview of the current state of the sneaker-verse and upcoming sneaker trends in 2023, we decided to take a deep dive into the trends that have captivated the attention of the community for the first six months of the year.

Many will be happy to bid the trend of black-and-white dunks goodbye as Y2K and more futuristic silhouettes gain foothold, alongside performance shoe brands that were in the past reserved for the great outdoors.

In particular, a certain adidas model has usurped the Pandas and the 550s to become 2023’s first official IT shoe. A warmer climate helped usher in the era of backless sneaker mules. At the same time, running shoe brands like ASICS and New Balance revisited forgotten styles from their catalogs and gave us reborn classics littered with nostalgic design elements (hint: silver).

Which sneaker trends will dominate 2023? And which should be the next sneaker for you to cop? Read on to find out.

Top Sneaker Trends 2023 (Jan-Jun 2023)

■ Retro Y2K Shoes

ASICS, New Balance, Nike, adidas

The silver sneaker trend first burst back onto the footwear scene together with the comeback of the ASICS GEL-Kayano 14. Soon after, brands like New Balance and Nike also hopped on the bandwagon with their own retro releases from the Y2K era.

Nike has the Zoom Vomero 5 and P-6000, while adidas recently dropped a full silver Samba in partnership with Wales Bonner. But it is the masterful color-blocking of Teddy Santis’ Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance 860v2 series that has taken an older model and imbued it with a fresh perspective and a new lease of life.

■ Classic Soccer Shoes

adidas Samba

The revival of the adidas Samba, specifically the Cloud White and black colorways, is one that isn’t too dissimilar to the Panda Dunks that came before it.

With a simple but classic silhouette and design, the adidas Samba goes with almost any outfit in your wardrobe—much like the Pandas. This versatile feature also means that the Samba’s color combination options are endless.

With its meteoric rise and a ton of ongoing collabs, it isn’t a stretch to call the adidas Samba the IT shoe of 2023.

■ Performance Shoes

HOKA ONE ONE, Salomon, On Running

We cannot talk about the rise of performance shoe brands and their range of technical footwear without crediting the gorpcore trend that has dominated the streetwear scene.

This year, we’ve seen the Salomon XT-6, both inline and collaborative models, more than ever and in multiple colorways. Other footwear brands with a focus on the outdoors like ROA and Merrell have also entered our radar.

HOKA ONE ONE, particularly the white and black trail models like the Tor Ultra range, are constantly sold out. Keep a close tab on other “niche” running brands like On and Satisfy Running too.

■ Mules

Crocs, Oakley Factory Team, Martine Rose, Salomon, Balenciaga, Diemme

It might’ve been some time last year when brands started to introduce backless variants of their sneakers, but with rising global temperatures and more iterations coming out from the likes of Crocs and Oakley Factory Team, we’d like to officially declare sneaker mules as the official footwear of hot summer 2023.

So far, similar silhouettes have been seen via Crocs, Nike x Martine Rose, Salomon, and even Balenciaga. Each vary in design and technical details but all share the same ethos of bringing comfort and convenience to the wearer.

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