The 2020 GQ Sneaker Survey

If 2020 has been the Year of the Sweatpant, it should follow that it's also been a massive year for sneakers. With our hard-bottoms crying out for love from the backs of closets, we spent the year in comfortable, casual sneakers. Some were plain and easy to buy; others baroque in design and all but impossible to source. Outside quarantine, the industry continued to go gangbusters: we learned about the Chunky Dunky, and Travis Scott continued his long-simmering takeover of the business, and a tongue caused an uproar. In a year where everything stopped, sneakers kept moving. To make sense of it all, GQ's style team convened to answer the most pressing sneaker questions we could think of.

What sneaker have you been wearing most this fall?

Chris Gayomali, articles editor: '98 Nike ACG Air Terra Albis 2

Rachel Tashjian, style writer: Salomon XT-6 in red and white

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Willa Bennett, senior manager, social media: Airforce 1s, mids.

Daniel Varghese, tech and lifestyle commerce writer: Black Adidas Sambas—the cheap ones with long tongue.

Noah Johnson, style editor: Honestly, it's not cool and I'm not bragging, but it's the Hoka Speedgoat 4 for trail running. Runner up is the new Adidas Puig shoe for skating.

Chris Cohen, wellness editor: NB 990s, but barely any sneakers at all. I run in Hokas and Asics and BRIEFLY tried the monochrome fashion Hoka thing with a pair of Cliftons in "Tofu"—it did not work for me.

Yang-Yi Goh, style commerce writer: Adidas Puigs. They're bright royal blue with a sort of greenish-clear sole, and they look like a slightly warped pair of Gazelles. I've been wearing the same pair of chocolate brown cords everywhere lately, and they play real nice together.

Codie Steensma, deputy managing editor: Mustard-colored velvet Golden Gooses. One of those purchases I just thought: this will make me feel golden and bright.

Samuel Hine, senior associate editor: White Adidas Sambas, followed closely by Rick Owens Ramones and Chuck Taylors (the normie ones, not the chunkier 70s model).

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Cam Wolf, style writer: The Reebok Club C 85s. They're white, they're made out of leather, they're the exact shoes I wore all of last year, too. The pandemic basically zapped any desire to buy new sneakers, to be honest.

Martin Mulkeen, commerce director: New Balance 850 OG Reissue in blue and white. As an actual dad who occasionally sports "dad fashion" to signal to—I guess my immediate physical neighbors?—that I am still just a little bit "with it," these sneaks are a compromise between overt dad sneakers and, just, sneakers a dad would wear, if that makes any sense. Most importantly, they are quite comfortable. Also, the sneaker's backstory explains the ouroboros of all fashion and is begging to be turned into a movie.

Sam Schube, senior editor: TBH I switched over to my Sid Mashburn Playboys the minute summer ended.

Describe your current sneaker rotation: number of sneakers, types, colors, etc.

CG: I rotate between a pair of old ACG Nikes and Merrell Moabs, depending on the activity.

RT: Six pair: Salomon XT-6s, white Air Max, Virgil's white Air Maxes from 2017, gold Common Projects (ugh I know but they look sooo cool), La Sportiva Nucleos (if you can count those? I wear them like sneakers, so I think you can!), Vans Authentics in powder pink.

WB: Lots of Converse, Air Jordans, Air Force 1s.

DV: I mostly wear my Birks and loafers, but when I wear sneakers, I switch between three: the white ones from New Republic, black Adidas Sambas, and the yellow Nike x Gyakusou Zoom Pegasus 36s.

NJ: It's really just been functional—skate shoes for skating, running shoes for running, some New Balance 990s for walking and chilling. Otherwise it's been a lot of non-sneakers since COVID times.

CC: One pair of NB 990s!

YG: Most days, I lazily cycle through the aforementioned Adidas skate shoes, gray New Balance 990s, and fuzzy orange Converse One Stars because they're all low-maintenance and go with pretty much everything. But every once in awhile I'll break something special out from the rest of my collection: my Nike Shox VC 2s, maybe, or my EG Hokas.

CS: Five? Two for running alone. Others for stylish comfort and my bodega man.

SH: I probably have eight or nine pairs of sneakers, not counting running and tennis shoes. The ones I wear most are classics like Chucks and Sambas, because I love sneakers that were designed for sports back when athletes wore scratchy wool uniforms and extremely short shorts. And I'd rather wear the original that informed so many designs than the eighteenth reference or diffusion of the sneaker. I'm also into super GORPy Salomon Speedcrosses, ortho-core Asics, and the Vans x Julian Klincewicz collab. And I have a pair of Nike x Tom Sachs Mars Yards on ice that I'm quite attached to but should probably sell. (Size 9.5, DMs are open.)

CW: Just two sneakers: the aforementioned white Reeboks and a pair of the New Balance 990v5s in grey.

MM: Reebok Club C 85s, White Vans, J.Crew x New Balance 998 collab circa 2014, and the New Balance 850 OG Reissue.

SS: I've got a few pairs going, all purposely boring: white leather from No.One, white canvas from Stepney Workers Club, black Sambas. And, of course, Brooks Adrenalines for running.

What's the best collab you saw this year?

YG: I love Salehe Bembury's New Balance 2002R, but from a big-picture perspective, I'm much more fascinated by his gorp-y new collab with Chinese sneaker brand Anta.

CG: JJJJound New Balance 992 in mossy green.

RT: The Stussy x Nike Spiridon Caged in cream, I think!

CW: The Stussy x Nike Spiridon Cage 2—in fossil!—is undeniably great. I really love what Chris Gibbs at Union did with the Air Jordan 4 in ~guava ice~. The most audacious and fun collaboration of the year, though, is the Cactus Plant Flea Market Nike Dunks covered in Swarovski crystals (in platinum, not "sage").

DV: I really loved the blue and green Noah x Adidas ones.

NJ: I like the Stussy x Nike Air Zoom Spiridon in the natural hemp-looking colorway.

CC: The JJJJound NBs were nice, but probably because they were so low key. If I had a slightly different personality I would own a bunch of the Kiko Kostadinov ASICS. Instead, I buy last year's model of GT-2000 on sale on Amazon Prime. The various Dunks did less than nothing for me.

CS: Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance.

SH: The Wales Bonner x Adidas Samba.

SS: Those GWB Sambas, or the Union x Jordan 4s, or those great Stussy Nikes.

What's your go-to outfit for sneakers?

CW: All of them.

CG: Basketball shorts and a long-sleeve tee with ankle socks, baby.

RT: Cropped pants, a sweater. Never a sweatshirt; don't wanna look too sloppy. Maybe a blazer over a crewneck sweatshirt.

WB: I love to sport Air Jordans with a formal crisp suit on a weekend outing.

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NJ: I like sneakers with crew socks and long shorts. Or with some sporty nylon pants and ribbed dress socks.

CC: Patagonia Baggies, big tee, hiking socks. Or jeans and a tee or polo. The Full Dad.

CS: Sweater, trousers. Half-assed attempts at professional wear.

SH: I don't have a go-to outfit for sneakers, but I'll never wear sneakers with slim jeans.

SS: Short, wide pants and a T-shirt.

How do you navigate the perilous Pant-Sneaker Interface? Stacked jeans? Cropped trousers?

CG: Just wear shorts and let the shoes shine.

RT: CROPPED trousers ONLY.

WB: Stacked jeans, the more texture in the fit the better.

DV: I love a pin roll or a normal cuff. Again, though, I'm an unrepentant normie.

NJ: Depends entirely on the type of sneaker and the shape and height of the collar and tongue. The most important thing to me when wearing sneakers is that there is always sock visible—absolutely no no-show socks ever under any circumstances—and that the sock color contrasts with the shoe, so you should never wear black socks with black sneakers or white socks with white sneakers.

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CC: The felt like more of a problem when skinny pants were a thing—it's been a nice side effect of wearing bigger pants that I don't stress about this as much, with sneakers or any other shoe.

YG: There is only one universal truth in the great pant-sneaker struggle: All sneakers—low-top, high-top, old-school, techy, whatever—look good with a pair of extra wide, slightly cropped fatigues.

CS: It took me a while to realize all interfaces can actually work. The flared, long pant was the worst, but I got there.

SH: There's no great rule of thumb here, because it's all about feeling and what looks right to your eye. (As the great fitologist Acyde says, “When the boot don’t meet the suit right, it ain’t right!”) A crop can help a low top sneaker, but so can a long flared jean. It's all about figuring it out yourself. But avoiding tight pants is a good first step.

CW: I usually wear my sneakers with a cropped trouser. We must all work to end the scourge of jogger pants.

MM: Cropped trousers or a single jean cuff.

SS: Cropped, although I'll occasionally do the full Phoebe Philo and let some baggy pants pool around a pair of shiny white sneaks.

Who is your patron saint of sneakers?

CG: Keanu.

RT: YOU ALREADY KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!

WB: I love how Rosalía seamlessly incorporates sneakers into her fits. I've always admired that about her style.

DV: Literally haven't been able to get this Aimé Leon Dore ad out of my head since last year.

YG: Letterman.

SS: Harry Burns.

CS: Probably Pharrell. Or Biebs, if we're being honest.

SH: Michael Jordan.

CW: Remember when UNC head coach Roy Williams wore a pair of “UNC” Off-White x Air Jordan 1s? An adult with a great job who wears a suit and a great pair of sneakers—that's aspirational stuff!

MM: He gets quite a lot of credit already, but I'll admit I do quite like Jerry Seinfeld's sneaker collection. But I think I gotta give it to Sky Davis of Nickelodeon's Doug.

Have you used a resale platform—eg StockX, GOAT, Grailed—to buy sneakers this year? Any notable incidents?

CG: Hype is boring and eBay has the sleeper hits.

RT: I'm a lurker. I check StockX regularly and visit Stadium Goods when the line isn't too bad.

CS: Yeah...Grailed for some old Philipp Pleins with a big old silver skull that fed my dark-forward brain but I didn't actually need and never wear because they're incredibly uncomfortable and heavy.

SH: No, but I've sold a bunch of pairs on StockX and Grailed and used that money to buy boots.

CW: Besides obsessively tracking pairs of AJ1 high Chicagos—in red, white, and black—no.

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NJ: Yes! I have a notable incident. I have been desperately trying to get a pair of the new New Balance 2002, which for some reason has not yet been released in the US except for some ugly collaborations. I wanted the regular grey/silver color, and StockX had them for a price that wasn't too horrible, considering the sneakers are expensive to begin with, in my size. So I pulled the trigger and a week later I get this email from StockX:

As you know, we have a multi-step authentication process to ensure that your order is correct in every way. Unfortunately, your recent order for the New Balance 2002R Light Grey didn't make it all the way through that process. As a result, we have cancelled your order and have issued a full refund.

I was bummed but stoked at the same time!

Is there any place (or any time) you won't wear sneakers?

CS: Gala. Or Iceland.

CG: In my apartment.

RT: With skirts or dresses. Just looks too young.

WB: To the beach. Not the vibe.

DV: I felt like wearing sneakers at the park was really overrated. The moment I sit down on a park blanket, I want to take my shoes off. But then it felt weird to be wearing socks, especially if i wanted to ever get up and stretch my legs. There's nothing worse than having a dirty sock. Does this make any sense?

NJ: Yeah, that thing where some bozo gets married and makes all of his groomsmen or bros wear them same suit with like a pair of black and white check Vans or something. I'll never do that.

CC: I am not at all into the sneakers and a suit thing, so any time I'm wearing pants that I need to dry clean.

YG: Weddings, funerals, anywhere muddy.

SH: I don't think I've ever worn sneakers on date. Fuckboy vibes!

CW: No.

SS: To a nice dinner.

For 2021: are sneakers rising, falling, or staying steady?

CG: Falling :(

RT: Staying steady. But it seems having a big wardrobe of sneakers is going out of style, with a lot of the heads selling or consolidating their collections.

DV: Falling! The shoe of 2021 will continue to be a house slipper.

NJ: Steady! As they have been and will be for years.

CC: Steady.

YG: Staying steady.

CS: Steady as they come.

SH: Falling! In 2021 we're wearing cowboy boots, giddyup.

CW: For me, personally, they are falling. I'm just less interested in wearing them and buying them than I have been in many years.

SS: Globally? Rising. Personally? In total freefall.

Originally Appeared on GQ