The Coolest New Sneakers We’re Loving Right Now and What to Buy Next

August served up some of the year's most inventive drops, scoops of nostalgia, tributes to a legend, and archive deep-dives, all landing on shelves within weeks of each other. Whether you're after something loud, something sentimental, or something that just looks impossibly good with a pair of loose jeans, this month's list has range. Here's what we're lacing up right now.

ASICS GEL-STRATUS MC

ASICS' latest addition to its SportStyle line doesn't lean on a collaborator, it draws from the brand's own archive instead. The GEL-STRATUS MC is built on the GEL-STRATUS 4, a running shoe from ASICS' 2011 to 2014 catalogue, reworked with the label's current lifestyle sensibility rather than performance in mind.

In White/Clay Canyon, the shoe carries silver overlays, visible mesh and layered paneling across a silhouette that reads distinctly early 2010s. The palette stays restrained, which keeps the technical detailing from tipping into costume. A softened midsole and rearfoot GEL technology carry over from the running original, giving it genuine comfort rather than just the look of it.

It's perfect to style with anything from baggy denim, oversized cargos with crew socks, or tailored trousers.

JJJJound x New Balance 740N "Mushroom"

Justin Saunders doesn't do loud. The Montreal studio behind JJJJound has spent years quietly reworking New Balance's back catalogue into something closer to design homage than sneaker drop, and this time the target is the 740N, a no-sew variant of the brand's 2000s-era running silhouette.

True to form, JJJJound resists the urge to reinvent. The "Mushroom" colourway leans into muted, sun-faded browns and creams, with a beige-toned midsole and tongue that set off the darker overlays. It's a colour language the studio has returned to across previous New Balance collaborations, including on the 990v3, 993 and 990v4. The result is less a statement piece than a quiet upgrade.

It released August 6 via New Balance globally, following an earlier limited JJJJound drop on July 30.

Kobe Bryant x Nike Air Force 1 Low Protro "Dodgers"

The Air Force 1 Low Protro swapped its usual basketball references for Dodgers blue, tying Bryant's Lakers legacy to another of Los Angeles' most recognisable sporting institutions.

The execution stayed disciplined: a wolf-grey leather upper, red stitching along the seam connecting the mid-panel and heel that nodded to baseball construction, and a snakeskin-textured Swoosh that kept the Black Mamba thread running through it. An oversized "8" on the heel did the heavy lifting, a callback to the number Bryant wore before switching to 24, the kind of detail that rewards people who know the story without needing it spelled out. . It released August 15 alongside the Kobe 5 Protro "Dodgers."

Free The Youth x Air Jordan 16

Jordan Brand collaborations tend to follow a familiar script, which is exactly why Free The Youth's take on the Air Jordan 16 stood out. The Ghanaian creative collective, known for its distinctly Ghanaian approach to streetwear and design, became the first African collaborator on a Jordan Retro model, and rather than play it safe, they went after one of the archive's strangest, most divisive silhouettes.

The design leaned fully into that history. Two detachable shrouds came with the shoe, one in silver to match the forefoot and another wrapped in graphics inspired by the Tawny Eagle, Ghana's national bird. Even the packaging carries a personal touch, with messaging that connects the release to Free The Youth's own history.

It dropped in two stages: an exclusive early release on August 1 via Free The Youth's own site, followed by a global rollout on August 15

Coming Next: Pharrell x adidas Virginia Watermoc

While the rest of this list is already on shelves, one drop is worth circling before it lands. Pharrell's latest VIRGINIA release draws on adidas' early-2000s Adventure Water Moc, reworked into an outdoor-leaning lifestyle slip-on with a neoprene U-throat, mesh ventilation, reflective webbing and bungee speed lacing in place of traditional laces. It launches globally September 5 in three colourways, Blue, Yellow and Black.