SGB’s Fast Five

With a ton of new spring/summer footwear soon to launch, SGB picked five of the coolest new kicks we think are hitting the right trends.

ALLBIRDS WOOL RUNNER
We all love the benefits of wool socks — temperature regulation, odor control, etc. So why not bring these performance boosters to shoes? That’s the story behind start-up brand Allbirds with the debut of its Wool Runners, $95, for men and women. After careers in professional sports and biotech, Co-founders Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger teamed up with Italian textile mills to create the dual-faced, knitted material shoes with a soft, itch-free interior and a durable exterior. Designed with no unnecessary seams or embellishments, the shoe’s upper is cut as a single piece for a more sock-like fit.

Allbirds Wool Runner

SUPERFEET OUTSIDE FLIP FLOP
Flip flops have never been known for great support. While they’re great for bumming around the beach or at home, you’re not going to walk across town in a pair. Challenge accepted by sturdy solemaker Superfeet. It paired its iconic high-support foot bed with synthetic leather and neoprene straps to launch its first sandal product, the Outside Flip Flop, $60, for men and women this April.

Superfeet Outside Flip Flop

SAUCONY GREEN LINE KINVARA 7
Saucony designed its 2016 Green Line Kinvara 7, $160, as a salute to the Boston Marathon. Putting on these hulk-colored shoes is comparable to Braveheart face paint and a throwback to Boston’s Green Line — the oldest subway system in the country; which runs alongside much of the marathon course, and transports thousands of cheering friends and family to the sidelines. Runners also use the subway line for speedwork training, racing the “T” side-by-side down Commonwealth Avenue. Online presale begins March 16 at Marathon Sports. Saucony’s VP of PR attested, “As a Bostonian and ‘T’ rider and a runner, the Green Line shoe couldn’t be a better mash-up of everything great about living in this city!”

Saucony Green Line Kinvara 7

BRANDBLACK ETHER
“It is a time when the intersection of sports and fashion are not only accepted, but expected,” said Brandblack about its new Ether, $120. The high-performance basketball shoe pays homage to the “Blucher construction” that dominated the sport’s sneaker designs from 1900 through the 1970s. The heritage model is built to lock down the forefoot and give extra lateral structure during cutting maneuvers. Brandblack fused this old-world know-how with its modern cushioning technology, a durable nylon upper and nubuck support panels.

Brandblack Ether

VANS OLD SKOOL COLLECTION
Sticking with the heritage theme … if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Vans celebrates its 50th anniversary in March, bringing back its old-school canvas shoes and classic silhouette. Accurately dubbed, the Old Skool, $50 to $75, these shoes are anchored in traditional canvas, with the multi-panel construction from the days of yore. What’s new is the prints for spring 2016, which came about from a collaboration with skater Elijah Berle, Cherry Glazer and front woman Clementine Creevy. Overall the collection is a little bit grunge, a little bit rock and roll, and a whole lot classic.