The 20 Best Designer Sneakers of 2013

Our Legacy would introduce the I and II of their new runner, emphasizing their sportwear mentality this year, but nothing beats the original, baby. Suede uppers mixed with canvas and finished off a really cool slub toe box.

The Island Dunk's introduction this year wasn't met with tons of praise, but it still got plenty of buzz with the pony hair collection that saw two incredible versions. This one, brushed leather with pony hair back panel, had the internet going nuts, especially when Lord Wooster got street styled in them.

The GAT low will always have a presence on these lists. Which is the case anytime the secretive house takes the traditional German Army Trainer and completely juxtaposes it with materials that are truly "out here." Point in case; these studded lows. The tonal black shoes with a crazy pyramid texture are this year's GAT low winner.

The Raf Simons x adidas Ozweego is that one shoe that is so hideous, it ouroboroses into something beautiful. Crazy clashing colors. Overly technical design for exaggerated visual depth. Can someone actually run in these? Probably, but you won't. These aren't intended for running within the #menswear community.

Damn, Saint Laurent killed it this year. After catching a lot of flack for dropping the "Yves," SL came strong with their 2013 collections, which included its footwear. Three color colors on a sleek silhouette for the true player pimp in all of us, these low-tops were made for cruising the city whilst looking like a G.

Only Damir Doma could make elements of the dreaded gladiator sandal look dope. Wrapped in leather strips, these kicks were definitely in advanced territory. But if you were already residing on the Dark Side, then these probably fit right in with your 'fit. Texture and layering on footwear usually goes haywire, but the Falco style incorporated these factors and delivered an absolutely sick style.

Eytys found its place in people's hearts by simultaneously keeping it as simple and high-quality as possible. The Mother style also came in canvas and suede, but who can't help but fall in love with textured suede. An oversized sole was the most noticable detail, but everything else focused on comfort and function, two things men's style puts before anything else.

This was the shoe that made other designers throw up their hands in disbelief, yell "Are you kidding me?!?!" and go on sabbatical. From the gold hardware to the rippled sole, this sneaker brought everything to the table without looking like an overcrowded mess. The only problem was keeping these as pristine as when they first showed up in the box.

People know Diemme for their ill boots, but if the Italian label keeps fuckingup our minds with styles like these, we might have to re-frame everything we know about this brand. A slip-on sneaker is a staple in any wardrobe, but doing the whole damn thing in snakeskin-print leather? The butteriness is at cardiac arrest levels right now.

The Achilles is the real money maker for the high end shoe brand, but Common Projects broke too many necks with the runner silhouette of the Mountain Track. Still honing in on using premium materials and superior craftsmanship, the runner's bulkiness goes a little out of CP's comfort zone but we're now kinda hoping this could be a regular occurrence.

Stingray? Seriously though, the materials designers are coming up with to use for their footwear is just nuts. ETQ Amsterdam went ham with the Black Stingray Series that dropped a few weeks back with the mid giving a little more. Gold eyelets, waxed laces and, oh, did we mention pebbled STINGRAY?!

Umit Benan is no stranger to luxury, and these kicks did not stray far from that which the designer does best. Contrasting black and white only made the navy ankle collar pop off that much more. And the tonal stitching creeping across the body was the subtle, finishing touch on some of the year's low-key best sneakers.

Visvim's clothing and footwear produces bangers year in and year out. Its boots and moccasins (P.S. mocs aren't sneakers, so stay out of the comments with that shit) make up a majority of their success, but no one can overlook the Skagway. And this year's AMDO version with canvas uppers and Beuys-inspired crosses provide that culture you need in your philistine life.

The notion that you shouldn't mess with a classic pretty much pans out 100% of the time, and there are countless instances of designers falling flat on their fucking face when they try to fix what ain't broken. Sandro's take on the Sk8 Hi, however, is the reason why people will always try to re-invent the wheel.

Margiela's streamlined high top design brought a futuristic concept to life with the new reflective python upper sending these bitches to a time in which we just aren't ready as a human species. One of the boldest designs meets a crazy colorway (can you even call it that?), and instantly blasted human kind to a new space and age.

When Y-3 dropped this silhouette, it flew under the radar of most hypebeasts, but true high-end sneaker lovers were foaming at the mouth for them. The Qasa high's construction and innovative design had people ready to shell out 4 bills easy on them.

Can Engineered Garments do no wrong? Well, when you call on Vans to bring back some of their iconic features used on the original back in 1966 (authentic rubber toe, wider foot) while putting their incredible signature footwear touch on it (mismatched uppers), it's going to be hecka tough to deny its continuing perfection.

The bold and the beautiful Rick Owens Geobasket sneakers are the exaggerated high top you either love or hate. And if you're a part of the former, you absolutely adore the pony hair version that dropped this summer. Motherfuckers really can't tell you nothing if you can pull off these risky kicks.

As one of Pusha T's favorite brands right now, he described them as simply "un-fuck-wittable." Surely, his love for the all red Arena was a huge proponent of this sentiment, capitalizing on hip-hop's love affair with luxury and flash. You might be butt-hurt over the whole Red Octobers drama, but anyone flossing in these is all smiles.

The Japanese brand caused so many #menswear boners with their Manual Industrial Products line that featured premium leather on every aspect of the shoe, begging to be worn in to a beautiful dark patina. But the Air Force 1 HIgh-inspired model really hit the mark on the current state of men's style in 2013; high-end materials with a street mix. Boner time.