20. Nike Air Mag

I didn’t even attempt to buy a pair of Air Mags (they fall way outside of my pay grade), but as a Back to the Future fan, I most definitely appreciate these. When your mom is asking you if you’re buying a pair of Mags, you know they’ve reached pop culture phenomenon status.

19. Jordan 2011

I had more or less come to terms with the fact that I no longer cared about “new” Jordans until these came along.

18. Nike x Supreme SB 94s

I most definitely shit all over the first run of Supreme’s SB 94s, and then they made me eat my words with this year’s wheat makeup. They look 1000 times better on foot than in pictures, so needless to say, I was sold when my pair arrived.

17. Jordan XI Concords

Easily one of the craziest releases ever, the Concord XI’s laid the smack down on 2011. I find XIs to be one of the most uncomfortable shoes of all time, so you won’t catch me wearing them for more than an hour or so, but they’re most definitely stunners.

16. Patta x Asics Gel Saga

These would probably rank higher, but I’ve tempered my excitement for these knowing that I have zero chance of ever obtaining them. Regardless, they’re a really dope shoe. I hope we see more Saga collabs in 2012.

15. Stussy x Nike Sky Force 

A picture is worth a 1000 words, and to be blunt, the pictures of  Stussy Sky Forces were brutal. Not until the picture below released was I even remotely interested in these, and after receiving them, I love them. These are easily one of my most asked about shoes this year, yet nobody seems to even remember when Stussy and Nike started to promote them.

14. Nike Air Force 1 Denim

I think everyone is suffering from denim sneaker exhaustion as 2011 closes, but these are still worthy of the year end list. These were really well executed, and I won’t even hold it against them that they creased within the first hour of wear.

13. Nonnative x New Balance 997

I originally thought these were releasing in 2012, but when Hanon dropped these early in 2011, I snuck them onto the list. Great New Balance model, unique colorway, and interesting mix of materials make these a huge winner.

12. Nice Kicks x New Balance 1500

I still haven’t held these in hand, and I keep hearing that once I do I’ll be bumping these up. When my pair arrives, I may have to amend this list.

11. LDRS 1354 x Adidas Mocassin Mid

Another late entry into the list, I was taken aback at the quality when I got these in hand. These look amazing on foot, although they take more adjusting than your standard shoe to sit just right due to the fringe collar. Regardless, these are my second favorite adidas shoe this year.

10. Asics Gel Lyte Salmon Toe

These are obviously special to me because they were the first shoe launched with at Kith Brooklyn and online. Easily one of the most unique colorways of the year, these might top the neckbreaking list. Still, my second favorite ASICS of the year.

9. Nike Free Run+ 2

I can’t remember the last performance shoe that had as much success casually as the Nike Free Run 2. When I’m at the mall, I see a lot more people wearing these than Dunks for Air Force 1s. Such a great looking and feeling shoe, it deserves to be recognized. As people get more and more bored with retro “lifestyle” releases, watch for a bunch of performance streetwear releases.

8. Nike Koston One

If Nike asked me to design a sneaker, it would probably end up being pretty close to the Koston One. Uber-simplified on the outside, packed with tech on the inside, and incredibly light and comfortable…these are the future.

7. Nike Flow

The 2011 award for shoe that caught most people sleeping is the Nike Flow. Released in extremely limited numbers, a lot of sneaker lovers were left empty handed. This is one of my favorite nike designs from the archive, and I was thrilled to see these drop in OG colors this year.

6. Nike Brasil “É Possível” Air Force 1

2011 was a bit of a comeback year for the Air Force 1, and this was the best of the bunch. The all over embossed details are crazy, and these have ended up being one of my most worn pairs of sneakers this year. 2012 is looking strong on the AF1 front as well…

5. Jordan V Wolf Grey 

If you read my top 25 all time list earlier this year at Complex, you know that the Jordan V is my favorite shoe of all time. The Wolf Greys that dropped earlier this year could easily have been an original colorway, so you can guess how strongly I feel about these.

4. Bape x adidas Superstars

The adidas B-Side campaign was EASILY the best sneaker “pack” of the year. Great concept and great execution, these B-Sides were my favorite from the bunch (narrowly beating out the ZX700 boats). Next to the Ronnie Fieg releases, I was asked the most about help finding these shoes. Even the most influential infuencers missed out on these. I’m far from one of those, so yes, I still need a pair in a 9.5 or 10.

3. Asics Gel Lyte III Leatherbacks

These might not have the neackbreaking qualities of the Salmon Toes, but this colorway is much more suited to my old-man wardrobe. I wear these all the time, and they’re one of those rare shoes that gets better with age. The mixture of smooth leather and pigskin is something that I’m hoping to see more of on Gel Lytes.

2. Jordan III Black Cement 

It may be a bit of a sneaker-cliche to put these so high on my list, but it would be disingenuous not to. Without a doubt one of the greatest sneakers of all time, these will be worn consistently through 2012. And 2013 if they’re still standing.

1. Concepts x New Balance 999 Kennedy

These are my favorite shoe of 2011, and my favorite New Balance of all time. I had 2 separate shops that were trying to hold me down, and I was stonewalled at both due to high demand. When was the last time people were camping out in the US for a New Balance? This is a game changer for the brand in the US, and worthy of the top spot (Yes…I still need these in a 9.5 or 10).

 I’m cheap. I always have been. My love of a good bargain has taken me on a strange path over the last few years, from posting my deals on Twitter, and Complex.com to here today.

I’ve been looking for a platform to share more with the sneaker community, and KicksDeals.com is just that. Starting today, I’ll be posting multiple deals every day here in the hopes that I can help to stretch everyone’s dollar a little farther. Even better, I’ll actually be working with the biggest and best stores and brands to bring you exclusive deals and sales on your favorite sneakers.

Since this is all about community, I will also be sharing deals from our readers. Just send us an email to share@kicksdeals.com, and we’ll be happy to pass it along.

We have some exciting things planned for the near future, and I can’t wait to share more. You’ll want to follow us on Twitter (@KicksDeals) and Facebook for exclusive early access.

Thanks for reading,
@AndyOliverWpg

The question that I get asked most often about my role in Kith is how the hell did someone from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada get involved with the team. It’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short.

I’ve been a supporter of Ronnie’s for a long time, and started to order his collabs back in 2007 when he dropped what’s still my favorite Gel Lyte ever, the Solid Golds. A few years later, I decided to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, and stumbled upon Ronnie via Matt from Nice Kicks. The sneaker community was fairly new to Twitter at this point (I had about 30 followers, and Ronnie had about 200), so it was pretty easy to connect. I sent him a message, told him that I liked his work, and that the Solid Golds got a lot of love up north. From there, we started talking and realized that we had a common interest in sneakers and technology, and started to plan a few projects. Most of those ideas were shelved, but we stayed in touch, and I successfully delivered work for a few of Ronnie’s friends (specifically Nice Kicks, Marcus Troy and Complex). When the Kith opportunity presented itself, Ronnie reached out, and of course, I jumped at the chance to be involved.

If there is a moral to that long, boring story, it’s that the internet and social media have become the ultimate field-leveller. Your place of residence is no longer an excuse. It’s all about the quality of work that you deliver, and your willingness and ability to communicate. I’ve never actually met Ronnie or anyone from the Kith team, yet we were able to successfully launch the online Kith shop and blog from 1600 miles away.

A quick note about the site launch. I have mixed feelings about Friday. Overall, I think people had a positive experience with the shop, but we did experience about 12 minutes of downtime with the WordPress component (which was then set to forward to the shop). I was given all kinds of guarantees from our host that it wouldn’t be an issue, but I should know better than to believe that. I’ll definitely take full responsibility for that, and promise that the next one will run smoother. Speaking of the next release…you’ll want to start putting some money aside now. Trust.

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally there. The Kith store and site launch. I hope everybody is able to get their pair, but if not…I promise there’s a LOT more to come.