The Top 5 Shoes of 2026 Were All Ingenious Nike and Jordan Collaborations
Nike released collaborations with Aya Brown, Nigel Sylvester, Awake NY, Kids of Immigrants, and Taller de Rafa that took the shoe world by storm.
Real sneakerheads never left; they just always knew where to look for the next big shoe. People used to wait in line for the next release of Jordan 1s and Nike Dunks. Now they wait in line for Nike collaborations with independent designers and artists. This year, Nike gave several creatives—independent designers, visual artists, and athletes—the freedom to create their own shoes.
1202 MAGAZINE tracked all Nike and Jordan collaborations this year, and the ones that stood out most, with the biggest cultural impact in the shoe game, were Aya Brown, Nigel Sylvester, Awake NY, Kids of Immigrants, and Taller de Rafa. Each shoe reflects the collaborator's unique craft, motifs, and passions. Read below for our full list of favorite 2026 collaborations that took the shoe world by storm.
