2017 was the best year in sneakers in a long time and proof that a free market, I mean competition, produces the best product for the consumer. Adidas took the piss out of Nike last year, but the brand answered back this year, dropping collaborations and new sneakers left and right. Not to be outdone, Adidas had a few tricks up its sleeve, too: Giving Pharrell the shoes that his fans have always wanted, diversifying Kanye West’s line, and innovating new technology. Virgil Abloh also stepped into the game, dropped 10 sneakers with Nike, and, literally, ripped the footwear world apart.
People could punch each other out over the best sneakers of the year—and quite a few did at lineups over the past 12 months—but here are Complex’s Best Sneakers of 2017.