The Most Hyped Items of 2021

Image via Complex Original

Retail Price: $85

One trend that did not die after 2020 was streetwear’s voracious appetite for Crocs. The foam clog shoe label remained as popular as ever in 2021. In the first quarter of 2021, the brand clocked in at $460 million in sales—nearly double the revenue they made in the first quarter of 2020, which was a cool $281 million. So what became clear this year is that the Crocs revival wasn’t just a fleeting trend caused by COVID-19 stay-at-home orders or WFH situations. Crocs are here to stay and the brand’s stylish collaborations are what’s fueling the hype. This year, Crocs dropped collabs with Palace, Justin Bieber’s Drew clothing line, Beams, and Pleasures that all quickly sold out. But none were as hyped as Salehe Bembury’s collaboration with the brand, which was dubbed the “Pollex” clog.  

Naturally, Bembury’s name lends itself to hyped drops within the footwear space. A designer who formally designed for Yeezy and Versace, Bembury’s name is already well attached to popular collaborations with brands like Anta and New Balance. But after he first teased his collaboration with Crocs in February 2021, the hype only grew as Bembury’s fans anxiously waited nearly a year for these clogs to drop. One reason why these Crocs were so hyped was because it was a watershed moment for Crocs. The brand let Bembury become the first collaborator to ever alter the mold of their iconic clogs. The “Pollex’’ was not just a pair of Crocs outfitted with some unique Jibbitz, graphic screen prints, or other embellishments. The shape of the Crocs was altered to resemble Bembury’s own fingerprint, air vents never seen on a pair of Crocs before made an appearance, and even patches of rubber on the sole were added. Celebrities like Aminé wore one-of-one pairs in green and Marc Jacobs wore a pair in white months before they dropped in December, only increasing the hype for the shoe. 

If you didn’t hear about the Salehe Crocs by the time they dropped in “Cucumber” and “Memensha” colorways for $85 on Dec. 14, you definitely heard everyone flipping out on Twitter about not getting a pair. Many complained that the shoes sold out before they were even available for purchase at 11 a.m. And like all these stories about super hyped drops go, they’re now being resold on StockX for nearly four times the price of retail. But regardless of the hype, this pair of clogs was probably one of the best Crocs collaborations to ever drop.—Lei Takanashi

Retail Price: $55

One of the biggest trends of 2021 was the meteoric resurgence of custom New Era fitted caps. Plenty of local boutiques found themselves in the mix, from Paterson, New Jersey’s MyFitteds to Burbank, California’s Mag Park. And each shop was able to provide its own unique perspective too, whether it be a Colorado Rockies cap inspired by Magic Treehouse children’s books or a Los Angeles Dodgers cap colored up to perfectly pair with the “Guava Ice” Union x Air Jordan 4s. If you wanted to rock a fitted that you wouldn’t see being worn on the baseball diamond by the players, there were abundant options. Even big box retailers like Lids and Champs Sports got in on the action eventually. But for many, the custom fitted hat trend starts and stops with Hat Club, an Arizona-based retailer who is best known for its outpost in New York’s Noho neighborhood. 

Every Hat Club drop is a hot ticket item at this point, but few were as big as the collaboration with New York native Jae Tips that released this past March. The collection consisted of six styles, two apiece for the Dodgers and Braves along with Cubs and White Sox versions to represent Chicago. One colorway was purple with a pink undervisor, while the other opted for an infrared crown with an icy blue undervisor. Each hat was also completed with a complimentary side patch nodding to historic moments of each franchise, such as a 1999 World Series patch on the Braves hats or 75th World Series patch on Dodgers caps. Jae Tips even held special pop-up events in each city to make sure they got a better chance at the limited edition designs that each saw impressive turnouts. When speaking on his collabs with Complex earlier this year, Jae Tips said, “Just to kind of see the impact that I had and we had with [my Hat Club collabs is] just phenomenal. It wasn’t a monetary thing for me; it wasn’t about the dollars. It was about doing something that I can make an impact with.”—Mike DeStefano

Retail Price: $90

Although it took Kanye West some time, 2021 will also be remembered as the year we received the very first products from his highly anticipated Yeezy Gap line. After Kanye unveiled that he signed a 10-year collaboration deal to design special apparel for Gap in July 2020, fans were only teased for months regarding what the collaboration would look like. Ye started designing pieces immediately. Weeks after the deal, he tweeted out a video showing several garments being laid on the floor and fitted on a model at his sprawling home in Wyoming. Later, he shared previews of silhouettes he was presumed to drop in the first collection, a Yeezy Gap kids collection that included a baseball jersey, and even a mock-up for a waterproof bag. 

Instead, the first drop we got from the Yeezy Gap line was the blue “Round Jacket,” a billowing, nylon puffer that drew comparisons to Norma Kamali’s “Sleeping Bag” jackets and Charles James’ “Evening” puffer. Shock dropped in June of 2021, the blue Round Jacket alone pulled in $7 million in sales in one day, despite being a pre-order that would be delivered a season later. The black and red colorways of the same jacket were aptly promoted throughout the year for rollout of Ye’s latest studio album Donda. But even though the Round Jacket had its moment, the true Yeezy Gap piece that captured everyone’s attention was the long awaited release of what has come to be known as “The Perfect Hoodie.” 

Ye had teased his vision for the perfect hoodie months before he even unveiled his deal with the Gap. In March of 2020, he told the Wall Street Journal about his ambitions to make a cropped heavyweight, but affordable, hoodie. “The hoodie is arguably the most important piece of apparel of the last decade,” Ye told the paper. And throughout 2020, Ye teased a blue one that he seemingly wore everywhere for a short period of time. When Gap finally released his hoodie in September 2021, it arrived in six different colors and promptly sold out in all sizes in less than 24 hours. Although it took a couple of weeks to get to customers, Ye delivered on his promise. The hoodies were cropped, they were heavier than a $148 Supreme hoodie and only cost $90 flat. According to the Business of Fashion, the Yeezy Gap hoodie was being resold for almost the same markup as a pair of hyped Yeezy Adidas on StockX. One XXL black colorway on StockX sold for as much as $1,402 at the peak of the hype. Although the resale prices have leveled out since, the Yeezy Gap hoodie remains to be one of the most hyped items to drop this year and serves as a testament that Yeezy Gap is headed in the right direction.—Lei Takanashi

Retail Price: $130

Teddy Santis’ Aimé Leon Dore is on an undeniable hot streak right now. While some of the brand’s loyal supporters may be more inclined to praise its graphic knit sweaters, casentino wool overshirts, or penny loafers, ALD has arguably had its biggest commercial success with its revival of the ‘80s basketball sneaker, the New Balance 550. Originally brought back in four colorways in 2020 by Santis’ label, the 550 would go on to release in an assortment of similar inline colorways sans ALD affiliation throughout the remainder of the year. For anyone who missed out on the original 4 ALD 550s, the brand dropped its sequel back in April consisting of two new colorways, one white-based option with green and cream details and another white pair accented by navy blue and red. Of course, they sold out with ease. The green appears to be the more coveted of the set, currently flipping for an average of $386 on StockX in comparison to $248 for the other (retail was $130). A restock of the original quartet would also come a few months later for anyone still eager to score a pair for retail. These days, all six of them are mainstays on Instagram’s various fashion-based moodboard pages. And plenty of people have made the 550, a once forgotten model from NB’s archive, their go-to sneaker to pair with any outfit. It’s become part of their uniform in the same way others may lace up Nike Dunks or Air Jordan 1s.

There’s a reason that Santis was appointed as the creative director of New Balance’s Made in USA line back in April, a position he will officially take over at the beginning of 2022. He hasn’t missed yet with any of ALD’s New Balance projects. With him at the helm, expect more hits like the 550 in the months ahead. —Mike DeStefano

Retail Price: $150-$350

The Telfar shopping bag continues to be a hot item. Last year the bag received some big co-signs from people like Oprah and Beyoncé, and that momentum continued into 2021. The Telfar community is getting bigger, as is the demand for the bag, and the company is adapting by offering more colorways and more drops, which take place on its e-commerce site and the newly launched Telfar TV, and making various renditions of the bag with different brands. At the end of 2020 Telfar announced its collaboration with Ugg, which resulted in a shearling version of the shopper, but the brand has since offered additional styles like its inside-out shearling version and a black style. And via the partnership with Moose Knuckles, they produced puffer style Telfar shopping bags. The bag is so hot that it’s become a part of the cultural zeitgeist, making appearances on HBO’s Insecure,  The Wendy Williams Show and The Real Housewives of Potomac. Telfar Clemens, who founded the company, spent a part of his adolescence in the DMV and partnered with the cast via an In Style editorial to promote the Ugg collaboration. While Telfar is expanding—he introduced a duffel bag this year—the shopper remains a core item that consumers can’t get enough of.—Aria Hughes

Retail Price: Approx. $550-$2,000

Once again, Chrome Hearts has established itself as one of the most hyped brands of 2021. And to this day, plenty of hypebeasts are still dropping thousands of dollars to get special pairs of leather Chrome Hearts cross patches on old pairs of Levi’s jeans. But really, the Los Angeles brand’s biggest moment this year was its super limited edition collaboration with Drake to promote the release of Drizzy’s latest studio album Certified Lover Boy. The collaboration was first teased in the iconic music video for “Laugh Now Cry Later,” where Drake wore a specially customized Chrome Hearts basketball jersey. Later in March of 2021, we got a more proper look at the collaboration when the music video for “What’s Next” dropped. In the visuals, Drake was seen sitting in the backseat of a Chrome Hearts embellished Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster, wearing a co-branded CLB Chrome Hearts hoodie underneath a leather Prada bomber.

The collaboration between Drake and Chrome Hearts was officially unveiled in May and was only sold at the Chrome Hearts flagship store in Miami. To commemorate the collaboration, Rolls-Royce was commissioned to produce a one-of-one Cullinan that included leather seats and rims decorated with Chrome Hearts motifs. Along with the Chrome Hearts famous denim, the Certified Lover Boy merch included hand-dyed hoodies in grape, light blue, and dusty red colorways. Teddy bears, planners, a sterling silver jade face roller, and a gold keyring were also sold. “He wanted things to be heirlooms and have them be coveted,” Chrome Hearts’ co-owner Laurie Lynn Stark told GQ. “He was very specific about having things that have longevity. Like, in 10 years, if someone says, ‘Oh, remember they did that Drake project? What were those few pieces that were made? How do you have one?’ There’s only a limited amount which makes it prestigious to own.” 

The limited amount of product, along with Chrome Hearts’ notorious reservation system, made Drake’s collaboration with the brand one of the most hyped drops of 2021. To shop at any Chrome Hearts store, a reservation must be made in advance. So naturally, many folks who got their hands on any of this merch were either friends and family of Drake or entrepreneurial resellers. Today, you’ll still find merch from the pop-up being resold for thousands on Grailed. —Lei Takanashi

Retail Price: $2,500

At the top of 2021, The North Face unveiled a luxurious collaboration with Gucci that summited new heights for high fashion’s love for outdoor gear. Created in collaboration with Gucci’s freewheeling creative director Alessandro Michele, the collection paid homage to The North Face’s earliest years as a pioneering outdoor clothing label birthed in Berkeley, California in 1966. The design of the collection matched with Michele’s tastes, as nearly all the pieces in the collection were based on North Face apparel from the ‘70s—an era which Michele has frequently pulled inspiration from as a designer. The collection included a mix of calm co-branded pieces that maintained the original look of North Face jackets sold in 1975 and even a Gucci version of the outdoor label’s iconic geodesic dome tent. However, the piece that commanded the most attention was a monogram puffer jacket built off the silhouette of The North Face’s Sierra Parka.

Overall, the Gucci x The North Face collaboration was hyped. It crashed Gucci’s online store upon release and had plenty of hypebeasts making long treks to pop-ups that exclusively sold the collaboration in tents. But no piece was quite as coveted as that monogram puffer. ASAP Rocky rocked it during the ASAP Mob’s virtual Yams Day, properly flexing it while unveiling his standout Clams Casino record “$andman.” Rocky’s co-sign of the jacket wasn’t just fly in the sense that it looked like something Harlem’s own Dapper Dan would have cooked up for him. It reminds us that The North Face has been beloved and elevated by hip-hop culture for years—way before the brand ever collaborated with any high fashion labels or streetwear brands like Supreme. While the ‘70s inspired the collection for Gucci, hip-hop co-opting labels like Gucci and The North Face helped pave the way for such a great collaboration to occur in the first place. It was nice to see both brands subtly acknowledge that by designating ASAP Rocky to be one of the first celebs to wear the jacket. Of course, stars like Rocky and Billie Eilish wearing this jacket made it nearly impossible to buy—the jacket was sold for $2,500 retail and was flipped for as much as $10,000 on sites like StockX.

But more importantly, The North Face’s collaboration with Gucci cemented the status of an outdoor brand that has long been a luxurious item for most middle-class folks. Even if most of us can’t afford a Gucci North Face, there comes a sense of pride knowing that the one good North Face puffer jacket you’ve dedicated half your month’s paycheck to was a worthy investment that will still look damn good nearly 40 years later.—Lei Takanashi

Retail Price: $54

Supreme dropped a number of great pieces this year. There were patchwork Junya Watanabe puffers, Gore-Tex Belly jackets, and even official T-shirt collaborations with the Shrek movie franchise. But of course, when it comes to Supreme, nothing is ever as hyped as that coveted box logo. And there was no box logo as hyped as the one produced with the revered American luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. The box logo Supreme released to celebrate the collaboration was colored to match Tiffany’s iconic robin’s egg blue colors. Although various pieces of silver jewelry such as charm bracelets and earrings were part of the collection, it’s clear that most buyers were gunning for the box logo, which is still being resold for four times its retail price. 

The collaboration arrived during a year where Tiffany & Co. has rebranded its image after officially being acquired by the luxury conglomerate LVMH in January—a $15.8 billion deal that is LVMH’s largest luxury acquisition to date. The brand’s shift to reach younger consumers has led to some backlash, as seen with the controversy generated through the jewelry label’s “Not your mother’s Tiffany” campaign, which some customers saw as ageist and dismissive of traditional Tiffany customers. Later this year, a Tiffany campaign starring Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and a never-before-seen Jean-Michel Basquiat painting in Tiffany Blue also received mixed reactions. Although the campaign was well-produced and marked a defining moment for The Carters, the origins of the famous 128-carat diamond necklace that Beyoncé wore and the commercialization of Basquiat’s work also generated some controversy.

Supreme’s collaboration with Tiffany wasn’t exactly the most surprising. The streetwear brand has collaborated with Louis Vuitton before and Tiffany has clearly been looking to gain more eyes from a younger audience this entire year. But sometimes the best collaborations are the most obvious ones. And thankfully, this collaboration didn’t seem to lead to any major backlash for either entity. I mean, who wouldn’t want a Tiffany box logo to match a pair of OG Tiffany Dunks? And no streetwear afficanado can deny that Diamond Supply’s Tiffany-inspired graphics had us in a frenzy back then. Yes, Supreme’s box logos aren’t as underground as they once were. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one of the most memorable ones released in a while, with an interesting backstory to boot.—Lei Takanashi 

Retail Price: $995-$2,100

If you look at most iconic brands, it can be argued that hip-hop was a major driving force behind making them as popular as they became. Just take a look at brands like Polo Ralph Lauren and Clarks in the ‘90s, or Bape and LRG in the 2000s. If some of the biggest rappers on the planet are latching onto your products, there is a good chance you will be successful. One of the more recent examples of this occurrence is Josué Thomas’ Gallery Dept. Its trucker caps and paint-splattered sweatsuits were also popular, but its flared denim was the star of the show. The style came at a perfect time, too, as many men continued to steer away from the skinnier denim that was popular for so long in favor of something a bit roomier. The ‘70-esque flare looks are custom tailored in Los Angeles using vintage pairs of Levi’s 501s. Migos were some of the biggest supporters of the brand this past year. The trio even dropped a merch collab, which of course featured Gallery Dept.’s signature denim cut, to celebrate the launch of Culture III. The pieces were rocked frequently by Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff throughout the press run for the project as well. But the brand wasn’t just a favorite of the Migos. Everyone from Roc Marciano to Drake was rocking Gallery Dept. heavily in 2021. 

Just as it seemed like Gallery Dept. was hitting its peak of popularity, Thomas announced that he would be discontinuing the brand. “From the beginning, Gallery Dept.’s focus has been making the best product, while easing the burden of resource consumption. Because each case is unique and deserves a unique solution, I am choosing to continue the practice of being an artist and withdraw myself from the fashion industry,” he said in an official statement. Despite the brand stopping production in 2021, there is still no denying the impact it had throughout the year, and Thomas’ unique approach to repurposing vintage denim was a big reason for it. —Mike DeStefano

Retail Price: $100 – $4,200

When Kim Kardashian launched Skims, a shapewear and loungewear line, it made sense. She’s known for wearing shapewear and understands the market. And since introducing the line in Jens and Emma Grede, her business partners, she’s won over customers with high quality pieces, flattering cuts, comfortable fabrics, and non-boring colors. Kanye West helped with the creative direction of the brand. Skims resonates with the women who buy it, even those who aren’t a fan of Kardashian. For her part, she’s injected energy with smart ad campaigns featuring the likes of Paris Hilton, Kate Moss, Teyana Taylor, Iman Shumpert and others. When an image popped up online of a possible Fendi x Skims collaboration, it was hard to believe. But it was true. Kim Kardashian worked with Kim Jones, the creative director of Fendi, on a Fendi x Skims collaboration that included bodycon dresses, leggings, tights, bodysuits, and leather dresses. The responses varied, but the pieces hit on the trends and items we see proliferating our IG feeds. And according to TMZ, over 300,000 people signed up for the waitlist for the drop, and the entire line sold out in one minute and brought in $1 million in profits. Was the collaboration groundbreaking? No. But it was well-timed, on-trend, and fueled by Kim Kardashian’s popularity, which made it hyped and successful.—Aria Hughes 

Retail Price: $650

While Daniel Lee is no longer the creative director at Bottega Veneta, the Puddle Boot he released while there will help define his tenure. Lee introduced the boot at the Fall/Winter 2020 runway shows. It’s a rubber slip-on ankle boot that takes inspiration from classic Chelsea boots (and an old Celine boot), and made with a biodegradable polymer. It’s lightweight, waterproof and pops in pictures and retails for $650. It immediately caught the attention of influential celebrities like Lil Yachty, ASAP Ferg, Justin Bieber, and Bloody Osiris. In his “No More Beatboxing Freestyle” video, Lil Yachty paired his with a matching hoodie, red nylon shorts from Sicko, and white Alpine socks by Kapital. ASAP Ferg opted for a more traditional look, wearing his “Rubber Band” pair with baggy jeans, a white T-shirt, and a lime green raincoat. British producer Kwes Darko paired his Kiwis with a set of Bottega Veneta raw Japanese denim Dungarees and a black T-shirt to make sure the footwear was the star of the show when he attended the designer’s Berlin show earlier this month. Because of the boot’s popularity, Bottega Veneta has released other versions like a style with laces and a knee-high silhouette. But the Puddle style remained the most recognizable and popular throughout 2021.—Aria Hughes

Retail Price: $180

Virgil Abloh never stopped creating. Before his tragic death on Nov. 28 at age 41 following a private battle with a rare form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma, he was able to share plenty of those creations with the world. His work redefined how people looked at fashion. He made history as the first Black artistic director of Louis Vuitton Men’s, in the process further merging the world of streetwear he grew up loving with the luxury fashion world that shunned its influence for so long. Whether it was an Off-White runway collection or an Evian water bottle, Abloh brought the same level of thought to the table. And he did so right up until his final days. Just two days before news broke of his death, a post on his Instagram page promoted a collaboration with Tremaine Emory’s Denim Tears. Ten days prior to his passing, the much-anticipated Off-White x Air Jordan 2 Low project hit retailers. 

As celebrated as that two-sneaker project was, it was far from his biggest in 2021, though. Back in August, Abloh once again used his platform to redefine sneaker collaborations by releasing 50 (yes, 50) different colorways of the Nike Dunk Low. In doing so, he also made an effort to curb the use of sneaker bots that have plagued every big sneaker release these days by offering exclusive access to select Nike SNKRS users. Of the 50 colorways, 48 pairs were essentially identical, white and grey styles with subtle material differences ranging from hairy suede to leather and various overlace colors acting as differentiators. The range was bookended by a black leather pair with a silver Swoosh and white leather pair, which also featured a tin foil-esque Swoosh. Even with 50 different sneakers hitting the market, the project still felt special. It still felt like an achievement to own one of your own. And of course, everyone seemed to want one of their own. Anything Abloh put his name on was guaranteed to garner hype. The 50 was no different, even in a year that was filled with dozens of Dunk Low drops from Nike. Given the tragic news last month, Abloh’s 50 colorways feel just a bit more special now though. —Mike DeStefano