words // Luis Sanchez
Following our look at some trends we expect to come to fruition in 2014, its now time to discuss what's on its way out in sneakers for 2014.
As with any new year or new beginning, plenty of changes will arise. 2014 will be no different, with plenty of once popular trends reaching the end of their run. We'll likely see once popular styles such as camo footwear and hybrids likely die down a bit, and while NSW might continue to pump them out, its also appearing more likely that the hype behind graphic-covered Foamposites will finally come to and end.
What other trends are likely to go down in 2014? Find out in our latest list below discussing eight trends that are on their way out for 2014, and be sure to hit the comment section to voice your opinion on what else you'd like to see put to rest over the next 12 months.
Lifestyle signature shoes by Nike Sportswear
For the past two seasons, Nike Sportswear has redesigned Nike Basketball's most popular signature styles for off-court use. We've seen all of LeBron, KD, and Kobe's signature shoes redesigned, but none were really welcomed with the praise that was originally expected. And when you follow up with less appealing designs such as the NSW KD VI, it doesn't leave much expectation for the future of off-court lifestyle signature shoes.
Balenciaga Arena
If there's one high end shoe that was everywhere for the past year at least, its the Balenciaga Arena. The simple-styled shoe will forever be popular among its genuine fans and will likely continue to release in a number of impressive looks throughout 2014, but what's more likely to die down in relation to the Arena is the amount of pairs purchased strictly to just relate to a trend or fit in. Thankfully, 2014 will likely see a decline in poorly styled Arenas by less appreciative trend hoppers, and more proper representations of the incredibly premium shoe by its true fans and followers.
Customs (Recreation of existing themes)
Whether you like it or not, there will always be a place for custom footwear in the sneaker world. While the style of customs might change over the years, sneakerheads will forever turn to customizers for that 1 of 1 shoe you can't quite create on NIKEiD. One element of customs that's been long overused though is the idea of recreating existing themes. The past couple of years have seen countless Nerf, South Beach, Weatherman and Miami Nights inspired customs come to life, inevitably leading just about everyone in sneakers to grow tired of the once elusive themes and unique stories. If there's one trend we're more than confident we'll see die down in 2014, its this one.
Hybrids
When it comes to hybrid footwear, its easy for the idea of it to grow tired on sneakerheads thanks to insane amount of tech and classic design elements being tossed around to piece together new models. Functional hybrids such as the Huarache Free Run will likely still be a hit amongst sneaker heads, while lifestyle mash-ups of multiple models such as the Son of Mars and Jordan 1 Retro '95 will continue to decline in 2014. Even with that said though, there will always be room for hybrid footwear if executed properly and done less frequently. Subtle hybrids such as the recently released "Penny" Air Force 1 Low CMFT are another example of which hybrids might still be acceptable in 2014.
Patent Leather
Before I get into this, I want to make it clear patent leather will never be completely dead in the world of sneakers. When you're part of the reason a shoe like the Air Jordan XI is as popular as it is, its hard to say patent leather would ever die down completely. To be more specific, its likely 2014 will see the use of patent leather toned down across all brands. With other premium materials such as suede, tumbled leather, pigskin and several others utilized on more and more popular sneakers in recent time, 2014 provides the perfect opportunity for patent leather to be given a break.
Camo Footwear
This is a trend that's more so likely to be given a break soon, rather than just completely dying out. Because let's face it, camouflage will always look appealing on a shoe when executed properly. We'll still see plenty of functional camo covered shoes hit the market, but don't expect to see any camos over lifestyle footwear or some of the most timeless models from brands such as adidas and Nike in 2014.
Heavily Themed Shoes
Over the past few years, we've seen plenty of themes and stories shared over a countless amount of footwear. It's become almost tradition for brands such as Nike and adidas to celebrate nearly every holiday with energetic colorways over their biggest signature shoes. Though its likely the idea of themed shoes will never go away completely, its still evident that they aren't as popular as they once were and sneaker heads are definitely gravitating more towards traditional looks such as the 'Away' LeBron XI by Nike Basketball. The LeBron XI has already released in several colorways, and the 'Away' colorway still remains as one of the most popular yet thanks to their simple blend of colors that let the shoe's innovative look and performance features speak for themselves.
Graphic-covered Air Foamposites
It could be easily argued that the Air Foamposite model itself is on the decline, but its far more obvious that the once most popular graphic-covered Foams are definitely losing fans by the day. Luckily enough though, it seems the decline of graphic-covered Foams is happening at just the right time, leaving the door open for traditional and simple colorways to just maybe help salvage the Air Foamposite's legacy. And with several graphic Foams still set to release in 2014, it'll be interesting to see just how popular they still really are once released. While the upcoming Supreme collaboration will likely be a huge success, other upcoming looks such as the Spiderman-esque Foam Pro and the 'Silver Camo' Foam One could prove to be costly to the iconic model's overall legacy.
