Is the Dirty Sneaker Trend Washed Up?

By now, you’ve seen it. 

The dingy, discolored rubber bottom. The bent-up leather and the oil-tinged threading. Even the inside of the shoe looks like someone has trekked miles in it. 

Nike’s Dirty Triple White Air Force 1 Low is one of the biggest viral sneaker stories of the year and to some, it’s the very antithesis of what a pristine all-white Air Force 1 is supposed to be. According to Nike, although the shoe may appear filthy, the soiled outer layer is actually intended to chip away with wear, revealing a clean white sneaker underneath. 

It’s the sort of concept that would likely have made the late, legendary DJ Clark Kent, one of the white Air Force 1’s biggest champions, hang his head in disgust. You probably won’t see Fat Joe licking the sole of the Dirty Triple Whites any time soon. And yet, despite unabashedly breaking some of sneaker culture’s staunchest unwritten rules, it would be hard to say that the Dirty Triple White Air Force 1 has been anything but a success. 

Vintage-appearing, fresh-out-of-the-box footwear isn’t a new thing; brands like Golden Goose were making headlines for selling $700 dirty sneakers a decade ago. It’s also not a first for Nike, which has for years been releasing archive-inspired designs ranging from Air Maxes to Air Jordans. But the brand’s recent release struck a chord, bringing the conversation back to the surface and making us wonder: Is the worn-in aesthetic getting burnt out, or is it just beginning? 

With pre-distressing hype reaching new heights, FN spoke with members of the retail and resale industries to get a better feel for where things could be heading from here.

“I think the desire for unique, pre-loved products, if you will, is only getting bigger, frankly,” Drew Haines, StockX’s director of sneakers and collectibles, tells FN.

Compared to many of the most popular pre-distressed shoes, styles such as New Balance’s 2002R Refined Future (“Protection Pack”) and Balenciaga’s worn-out Adidas Stan Smith collaboration, the Dirty Triple White Air Force 1 hasn’t had much time to mature on the resale market. 

Despite its newcomer status, it’s already one of StockX’s top movers among new-but-dirty sneakers. With over 400 trades since the sneaker’s launch in May, the Dirty Triple White pair is reselling for an average of 50 percent higher than its retail price and is currently among the top 10 most-sold distressed sneakers on the platform, outperforming popular models such as Puma’s Speedcat and Maison Margiela’s Replica. The only shoes selling more units than the Air Force 1 are the aforementioned Balenciaga x Adidas Stan Smith and New Balance 2002R, New Balance’s distressed 550 and the black color of Vans OTW’s Old Skool 36 Pearlized Pack.  

Haines likens the popularity of lived-in sneakers to the vintage clothing boom that’s taken over the fashion world and the consumer’s taste for something more expressive than a typical off-the-rack item. 

“I do think that it is a reflection, ultimately of a larger trend, sort of with consumers wanting something that’s not as cookie cutter as, say, a new product. People want to express their personal style,” Haines said. “Like, the white Air Force One as a sneaker is one of the most ubiquitous, recognizable sneakers in the entire world and everyone has it, right? I think in some ways, like a really worn-in pair of those can be seen as a personal style statement. Whereas if you’re just wearing a brand new, crispy white pair, it almost overpowers whatever outfit you’re wearing.”

When images of the Dirty Triple White Air Force 1 first began circulating on social media in late April, some people opined that Nike had missed the window to capitalize on such a sneaker. That sorority girls had moved on from wearing thrashed Air Forces to Sambas, Speedcats and Salomons. However, a broader look at the data shows that the trend is very much still booming. 

Thus far, sales for “distressed” (and other variations such as “dirty” and “worn”) sneakers on StockX are up a massive 117 percent from the same period last year. Sales have grown for the last three years consecutively, and StockX expects that this year’s numbers will outpace that of 2024. 

Meanwhile, blocks from Broadway in Nashville, an insider at one of the city’s top sneaker shopping destinations has noticed the trend swinging in the opposite direction. 

“I don’t think it’s really getting received as well as all these brands were hoping it would,” Ray Ralph, buyer at Rooted, tells FN. “I think the appeal of today’s world is stripping down to the basics. Finding the one or two shoes that fit your wardrobe, and then just building your wardrobe on top of that.”

Ralph sees the appeal in vintage and worn-in apparel, whether it be genuinely distressed or off the rack, and says those items are some of Rooted’s top sellers. But for footwear, he thinks it’s far more enticing to break in shoes the old-fashioned way and applauds the late Virgil Abloh’s Off-White x Nike collaboration for encouraging owners to wear their shoes despite any hefty price tags.

“Certain people would just crush [the Off-White x Nike sneakers],” Ralph says. “They would just wear them into the dirt, and then that created a ripple effect…They were flexing on the fact that they didn’t have to tiptoe in a $1,500 pair of shoes. I don’t think we have to pre-distress the shoes. “I think we can just make shoes that look good throughout time, you know?”

While authenticity is paramount for many, not every consumer has the patience to soften up a rigid pair of raw denim through daily wear. Many want the lived-in look but don’t have interest in the process required to achieve it. In the same vein, some of today’s shoppers can appreciate a hack that allows them to skip past the early stages of spotless sneakers and get their desired look from the outset. 

Unlike most older clothing, hunting down genuine vintage footwear can be deflating since the glues and materials in shoes often don’t hold up over time; just imagine splurging on a dream sneaker only for it to crumble beneath your feet the first time you lace it up. For those buyers, pre-distressed options offer a solution. 

And to others, it’s not quite that deep. Dirty white Air Force 1s have become an inescapable meme, and the fact that Nike leaned into it this much shows that the brand isn’t afraid to have some fun at its own expense. Hate it or love it, the Dirty Triple White Air Force 1 is also a clever reminder from Nike that sneakers don’t always have to be taken so seriously.

Haines acknowledges that consumer tastes, particularly in the footwear industry, are changing more frequently than ever. Yet the pre-distressed sneaker trend is showing promising longevity. 

“I do think it’s here to stay,” he said.