The sneaker world and the fashion world, though tightly intertwined, involve two very different types of expertise. As a fashion editor, I may know every last detail about the next breakthrough designers coming out of Paris and Milan, the outfits with sneakers making headway on Instagram and TikTok, and the latest arrivals dropping at Zara and Mango, and at the same time be out of the loop on what sneaker models are booming on the secondhand market. So when I tasked myself recently with upping my knowledge in the sneaker world, starting with 2023’s most anticipated trends, I knew I had to call in a real expert. 

To find out which pairs I should be buying now for 2023 rather than later (aka, when the prices have skyrocketed so high I can’t possibly obtain them), I called on the merchandising director of sneakers and collectibles at StockX, Drew Haines, who kindly shared everything from macro trends and specific models to watch out for next year to hard-hitting footwear data. Of course, my first thought—after quickly picking up one of each of his predicted styles, that is—was to share the wealth. Below, see which sneakers StockX’s top sneakerhead is betting big on for 2023.