Part of putting together our annual Snobette Sneaker Awards includes input from a panel of experts. As in prior years, the panel is made up of women who of course love sneakers but are also longtime participants in the culture.
This year’s panel includes fitness and beauty incluencer Kirsy Lovett, retailer Susan Boyle of Rime, Brittany Edwards and Khiana Lowe founders of IncorpHERated, writer Maria Mora and hailing from Australia, Murata PJs, founder of Solefiness.
In a clear break from prior years, many of the panelists’ picks were shoes designed in collaboration with women, a change driven in large part by Nike, which made a concerted effort this year to further its connection with women by tapping them as design partners.
Repeat silhouette mentions included Nike’s collaborations with Sacai‘s Chitose Abe, Cactus Plant Flea Market‘s Cynthia Lu and Nordstrom‘s Olivia Kim. Air Jordan‘s efforts with Aleali May and Melody Ehsani also drew mention.
Speaking of Nike, the brand always dominates our panelists’ lists, but this year between Swoosh, Jordan and Converse it simply took over. Among 25 selections, only four were from brands outside the house of Nike.
Check out all our panelists’ picks below. Next up, Snobette’s top ten silhouettes for 2019!
