Everyone loves a good surprise — and recently, some of the best sneaker releases have been those that no one saw coming.
On Mother’s Day morning, Nike cashed in on the New York Knicks playoffs momentum with the shock drop of a never-before-seen Air Force 1 Low sneaker. Clad in Knicks orange and blue with customized “NYC” embroidery and an AF1-staple gum sole, the only thing that could have possibly made the shoe’s timing more opportune was if Nike had bet on an even deeper postseason run and dropped the shoe now, just as the team prepares for the NBA Finals.
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The special sneaker arrived with no warning, appearing quietly on the shelves of the Beaverton, Ore.-based sportswear company’s recently reopened SoHo flagship. A victory-charged clip from — who else — NYC viral video creators Sidetalk revealed the sneaker as fans celebrated in the streets, effectively announcing its arrival at the SoHo location. News of the shoe’s availability soon grapevined through social media and sneaker reports, with Knicks fans and New York resellers descending on the store and snatching up the stock. Availability for the style was scheduled to last for only two days, but that didn’t matter much: by Monday afternoon, nearly every size had been snapped up.
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Longtime Air Force 1 aficionado Paul Givelekian, who goes by the handle @pgknows on Instagram and is considered an arbiter of taste when it comes to the classic Nike model, shared his enthusiasm about the unannounced Knicks shoe.
“We need more surprise releases like this,” Givelekian wrote on Instagram. “The night before a little birdie told me these were dropping at Nike SoHo in the morning.…Pretty sure they’re sold out by now but market prices aren’t that bad. Buy a pair before they go up.”
From there, a scenario that sneaker fans know all too well played out as the Knicks Air Force 1, which retailed for $130, quickly began to resell for around double its sticker price. And that was only if you managed to catch them on the secondary market early, as the premium has continued to increase with a handful of sales surpassing the $400 mark.
Nike wasn’t the only athletic footwear brand with recent high-profile surprise sneaker launches. Two of New Balance’s most popular collaborators employed similar tactics for their respective releases of the brand’s recently issued Abzorb 1890 silhouette.
Joe Freshgoods, the do-it-all designer from Chicago who’s widely credited with helping reenergize New Balance through 2020’s “Anatomy of a Heart” 992 collaboration, used the Boston-based brand’s newly introduced Abzorb 1890 model to pay homage to his favorite 1990s rap music videos. The set included a purple style dubbed “Naughty Things” alongside an orange look called “Finger Waves.” Both pairs were warmly received when they were released in late April, but the story didn’t end there.
As a special treat for in-person shoppers at Joe Freshgoods’ MCA launch event, a third “Cut the Check” Abzorb 1890 colorway was revealed, one which featured an even more psychedelic-looking multicolor design than its more widely available counterparts. The style was also released in limited quantities online and while all three of the designer’s Abzorb 1890s have sold well on the aftermarket, the Cut the Check has far outperformed the other two, particularly in the immediate days after the drop. Sales for smaller and larger sizes have spiked as high as $1,000 and although the volatility has cooled down a bit, it’s still selling for the largest premium of the three colorways.
Elsewhere in the New Balance pantheon, rapper Action Bronson recently delivered his latest project with the brand, one which also included two Abzorb 1890 styles, or at least that’s what fans thought initially. It all began with a metallic blue Cyborg Tears style in January, followed by a slightly more subtle Hornet Tusk look in February. Then, just when it seemed like the story was complete, a third previously unseen pair entered the mix.
Timed to the release of his latest album, “Planet Frog,” which it also shares a nickname with, Action Bronson’s third Abzorb 1890 featured the artist’s now-signature blend of earth tones and bright accent colors. Said to be limited to only 777 pairs worldwide, the unexpected colorway has also become the most coveted of the bunch.
Nearly every secondary market sale for the Planet Frog sneaker has exceeded $500, while its Cyborg Tears and Hornet Tusk counterparts can currently be had for less than $200. There are a few factors at play here, with the most significant being simple supply and demand — less pairs produced means sellers have more control over the market. But just because a sneaker is limited doesn’t automatically mean people are going to chase after it. In Action Bronson’s case, many fans have found the colorway to be the most interesting of the three, and that element only adds further mystique to the special style.
Of course, not every sneaker release can be a surprise. Many shoes have long, drawn-out marketing campaigns by design, which position them as flagship models for brands. In those cases, it simply doesn’t make sense to intentionally keep the product under wraps.
Take for example Caitlin Clark’s highly anticipated Nike signature sneaker, which is set to debut later this year. Fans haven’t even seen the shoe yet, but have known it’s in the works for quite a while now. And it goes without saying that Nike will do the most to maximize the moment with commercials, collaborations and global activations. In instances like this, the more consumers know, the better.
But when it comes to smaller, more exclusive styles, an unexpected release can create a regional frenzy over a nearly 45-year old model in the case of the Air Force 1, or add renewed momentum to a long-running partnership, like one of New Balances.
Long before the days of release-tracking websites and social media pages, unexpected sneaker drops were more or less the norm. Unless you were lucky enough to have a close relationship with someone at a retail store, there was often little indication as to what would be arriving next. Major releases were advertised in catalogues like Eastbay, but oftentimes, the thrill of the hunt and surprise is what kept things exciting. Later, sites like 23isback.com emerged, giving a clearer release schedule for Air Jordan Retros. Eventually, sneaker media as it is known today began to take shape, with release dates and leaks becoming some of the content readers wanted to see most.
As proven by the Knicks Air Force 1 and New Balance’s Abzorb 1890 collaborations, brands are able to keep certain pairs from surfacing prematurely when they really want to, and it’s often worth the added effort. Just imagine if the Knicks Air Force 1 had been announced months earlier instead of appearing out of nowhere, it simply wouldn’t have had the same impact. The energy in the city in the midst of the team’s winning streak, coupled with the shock drop, made for a headline-worthy event that’s still making moves on the aftermarket. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise.