Think back, if you can, to 1999. While Fight Club and The Matrix, two of that year’s biggest films, suggested something of a general unease about what was to come – pre-millennium tension, as it was coined – Nike was busy doing the footwork for the future. The brand’s short-lived Project Alpha wing unveiled – to much fanfare, including commercials directed by the likes of Messrs Michael Bay and Michel Gondry – a clutch of sci-fi concepts that actually went into production. Among the best loved was the head-spinning Air Max Sunder, now reissued as the SNDR. It features a signature bubble in the heel, a zip-up shroud and reflective panels – you know, in case you missed the Canyon Gold upper.

Blame TikTok, if you like, for the appearance of sea salt in everything from desserts to beauty regimens in 2024. But when it comes to sneakers, we’ll take our recommended daily dosage of sodium with, ahem, a pinch of salt. Here, New Balance’s early 2010s 860v2 model gets a fresh, salty spray colourway. The result is perhaps more Starfleet than marine-based, with sci-fi technology – ACTEVA LITE cushioning, shock absorbing N-ergy, and segmented ABZORB SBS heel pods – to match.

An unremarkable if incredibly comfortable running shoe in its day – 2011, when it first launched – the fifth iteration of the Zoom Vomero has grown into its second life as one of the It shoes of the 2020s. Inevitably, this rebirth has seen the arrival of a multitude of colourways. And few are as bold as this clash of white, black and red. It’s a trademark combination, previously seen on flagship models from the Air Max to the Jordan. Which tells you the circles this shoe now moves in.

ASICS was – suitably – quick to tap up the skills of Central Saint Martins graduate Mr Kiko Kostadinov back in 2018. Six years feel like an impossibly long time in the world of sneaker collaborations, but this ongoing partnership continues to feel fresh. The standard GT-2160 is a play on the design language of the 2010s’ GT-2000 series. The Bulgarian-born designer’s take on this predictably runs with it, pushing archive details – along with GEL inserts – to their limits.

“The first shoe made for your knees” was how Nike put it when it launched the LD-1000 way back in 1977. To which we’d caveat that technology has moved on since Mr Bill Bowerman started experimenting with rubber in a waffle iron. But its flared heel design set the template for today’s shoes. And there’s no doubt that, when it comes to style, this archival piece goes the distance, as shown by the clamour for the rare recent reissue, in collaboration with Stüssy. This mainline version comes in the OG blue colourway.