Google Shopping and Paper Magazine: 21of21

For 21of21, GOOGLE SHOPPING and PAPER came together to break down some of the most memorable shopping moments of 2021 based on Google's trending search data. Despite the fact that our feet are not visible in video chats, sneaker culture continued to thrive, with Google search interest for "sneakers" reaching an all-time high in 2021 in the US.

If there’s one thing we learned this year is that the sneakerheads are gonna sneakerhead, and continue to stalk sneaker drops regardless of whether or not there are places available for said shoes to be worn (though I guess there’s always social media!). Given the current state of things, we cannot take for granted the nurturing embrace of likes and comments on a photo of our sneakers artfully perched atop a piece of extremely bourgeois-looking furniture. One thing we can take for granted is that there will always be a new sneaker for every type of person: those who favor a style that pushes boundaries (is that a shoe or a blob?), the ones whose commitment to the classics is eternal and those who just like to keep things unexpected, reclaiming shoes that were once deemed uncool and converting them into number one must-haves. Sometimes there’s not an explanation why we favor one style over another, it’s just all a visceral instinct that cannot be explained, but when we wear them all feels right in the world, even if just for a few seconds. These are the ones that kept us going this year.

Nike Air Max

The Nike Air Max family is royalty when it comes to the sneaker world, which is why they even have their own holiday on the calendar (March 26). With its ubiquitous platform that seems to never go out of style, the Air Max is the best at being a sneaker that looks good on everybody. On top of that, they’re really well priced, so go ahead and just impulse-buy a pair right now. We’ll all wait for you to check out before we move on to the next sneaker.

Alexander McQueen Oversized Sneaker

As previously mentioned, sneakers have been growing to unsettling proportions and the McQueen Oversized sneaker is, well, exactly that (it says it right there in the name!) — basically an Adidas Stan Smith given a high fashion marshmallow treatment. Five hundred and eighty dollars is a lot of money to spend on a pair of sneakers that are funhouse mirror copies of $85 dollar sneakers, but think of it as a postmodern take on appropriation and performance. Or just think of the comfort it will bring you to look down and see your feet ensconced in two little pillows. Priceless!

Rombaut Boccaccio II

Like many designer sneakers as of late, the Rombaut Boccaccio II is sort of like a sneaker on steroids — more specifically like a pair of dance jazz sneakers with the high arch to emphasize the dancer’s foot arch crossed with a pair of steel-toe construction shoes. There’s something a little aggressive about their style, and some might describe them as an “ugly sneaker” — not that there’s anything wrong with that! — some people love an ugly sneaker, especially people who can be described as celebrities or models, which have driven up the desire for these shoes among us regular folk. So go ahead and wear the Boccaccio II’s, and cosplay as a famous and/or fiscally solvent individual. There’s nothing wrong with bringing a little bit of fantasy in your life, even if you had to forego a student loan payment or two to get them.

Adidas Ozweego

The Ozweego has been around for more than a decade, but really only came into popularity after Raf Simons re-designed a few iterations of the Adidas sneaker in 2013. Sometimes the co-sign of a cool and popular person is all we really need to take a second look at a sneaker that’s been languishing on the shelves. It’s like in ’90s teen rom-coms where the nerdy kid in high school gets popular only because one of the in-crowd starts hanging out with them and they get a makeover set to a vaguely empowering song. Simons’ version of the Ozweegos might be hard to find, but the Ozweegos have outgrown the Belgian designer’s cosign, like when the movie protagonist forgoes popularity only to be permanently ensconced as popular for embracing the very things that made them unpopular in the first place. High school, like these sneakers, is super weird.

Reebok Margiela Tabi

Tabi sneakers will always be polarizing. At least two coworkers and three family members are guaranteed to ask about the split toe design, and no matter how lengthy of an explanation you dive into about the history of the Tabi boot, they will walk away focused only on how you find socks to wear with them (they sell them online!). Thankfully, for the past two years you haven’t experienced that interaction because they can’t see your feet on video calls. Just start preparing your explainer on what the Tabi is and who Martin Margiela is now, because the return to an office is going to be bad enough without coworkers incredulously inquiring, “How much did you pay for those?” in between bites of their lunch. The point is not how much you paid for them, of course, but how they manage to elevate literally every single fit you throw on.

Nike Air Force 1

Air Force 1’s became an iconic shoe pretty much since they were first released in 1982. Their resurgence in 2021 is thanks in part to Gen Z, who probably haven’t even heard Nelly’s 2002 paean to these immortal sneakers titled, you guessed it, “Air Force Ones.” You know a sneaker will be a permanent fixture of the zeitgeist when one of the biggest songs at the beginning of the millenium was about buying two pairs of them. Shout out to Nelly, Murphy Lee and the rest of the St. Lunatics for crafting a catchy song about a general release sneaker. There’s not a lot left to say about a sneaker that has its own dedicated memes other than please, please, please keep your white AF1’s spotless and clean.

Converse

The Chuck Taylor All Star, an icon of American fashion, has been around since 1917. I’m not sure what it says about society that a shoe designed around the time of the Spanish Flu is still incredibly popular during COVID era, but an enterprising mind could easily develop an interesting thesis on social mores, political inefficacy, the crumbling of the modern American Empire, and how Chuck Taylors or nostalgic Americana always surge in popularity during unprecedented times. Or maybe they’re just really great sneakers.