Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
Collectors looking for very rare Nike sneakers or limited edition sneakers from other brands such as Vans, Adidas and Converse will most likely be interested in collectible sneaker release dates. The rare releases listed on this page include the Air Jordan 2 Eminem 313, the Nike Air Mag and the auto-lacing Nike Mag 2016, the Nike Dunk Low Pro SB “Paris”, the Air Jordan 11 “Jeter”, and designer high-tops from Balmain, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Rick Owens.
Are you looking for very rare Nike sneakers or limited edition sneakers from other brands such as Vans, Adidas, Converse, etc.
If you are interested in rare collectible sneakers, you will most likely be interested in collectible sneaker release dates.
The following are a few of the very rare & collectible sneakers:
Learn more about sneakers in our fashion influence section.
Thank you for using the Apparel Search website.
The list on this page is a cross-section of how scarcity is manufactured in the sneaker market. Collaboration pairs borrow fame: the Air Jordan 2 Eminem 313 and the DJ Khaled Air Jordan 3 “Grateful” carry a musician's name, while the Air Jordan 11 “Jeter” honors a baseball career. Friends and Family releases — the Pharrell Williams x Adidas Hu NMD and the Macklemore Air Jordan 6 among them — were never offered at general retail at all, so every pair in circulation arrived secondhand. Place and art drive another group: the Nike Dunk Low Pro SB “Paris” is prized for its artwork-linked design, and the Nike SB FLOM Dunk High turns “For Love Or Money” into the shoe itself. Technology makes a third kind of rarity: the Nike Air Mag was a film prop made real in tiny numbers, and the Mag 2016 added working auto-lacing, so both are collected as design milestones as much as footwear.
Rarity alone does not set a collector market; condition, completeness and proof decide what a pair is worth. Deadstock pairs — unworn, in the original box with accessories — command the strongest interest, while worn pairs of even the rarest releases trade as display pieces. Because valuable limited releases attract counterfeits, experienced collectors buy through established specialists and check construction, materials, labels and release details against documented pairs before paying collector prices. Storage matters too: soles and foams age even unworn, so pairs kept as long-term collectibles are stored cool, dry and out of direct light. Readers who want the broader picture can learn more about sneakers in the fashion influence section linked from this page, and follow release dates so a wanted pair can be bought at retail on release day rather than at resale prices afterwards.
Scarcity and story: limited production, a collaboration or Friends and Family release not sold to the general public, a tie to a musician or athlete, or a design milestone such as the auto-lacing Nike Mag 2016. The releases listed here — Eminem and Jeter Jordans, the Paris Dunk, the FLOM Dunk — are rare for one or more of those reasons.
The collectible sneaker release dates guide linked from this page tracks upcoming and notable releases, and brand launch calendars such as Nike Launch, along with sneaker publications and resale specialists such as Highsnobiety, Flight Club and Sole Collector, cover the market.
No. Nike and Jordan releases dominate this list, but it also includes Adidas collaborations such as the Pharrell Williams Hu NMD Friends and Family, and luxury high-tops from Balmain, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Buscemi and Rick Owens.