Remember when people would stare, wide-eyed and judge-y fingered, at you wearing trainers anywhere other than the gym? Well, those days are gone and those people are (probably) dead. Thankfully, trainers now lend a welcome touch of comfort to our everyday attire, and this year saw our undying love for low-tops, split soles and Flyknits only intensify further.

Here are the ones that made us weep:

Most Aesthetically Pleasing

adidas Originals X Spezial Kirkdale SPZL

Sometimes ‘aesthetically pleasing’ doesn’t always mean ‘coolest’ (we’ll get to that later). The adidas Spezial Kirkdale isn’t everyone’s idea of cool: it’s a big, soft, Scouse shoe that puts comfort front and centre and has hiking inflections and weekend dad connotations.

It was also arguably one of the most highly anticipated recent releases among the fervent Spezial fans/die-hard followers of designer Gary Aspden, who are a very particular breed. You’ll find Spezial fans haunting metropolitan hiking shops or behind the goal in the stands at FC United of Manchester in cagoules, sipping pints of local ale. They’re not always cool, but their trainers look ace.

Most Innovative

NikeLab Kobe X Elite Low HTM

We don’t usually push basketball trainers but these are way better than the runners up – those abominable/kind of cool Back To The Future Nike Mags – for the simple fact that you could actually step outside wearing them without immediately getting beaten up.

A collaboration stemming from the combined brains and brawn of Fragment designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nike designer Tinker Hatfield and Nike CEO Mark Parker (‘HTM’, see? Clever), the Kobe x Elite Low is athleisure taken to its logical conclusion.

It draws influences from Nike Free’s flex grooves and the singular style of Nike Flyknit but also mixes in tens of millions of dollars’ worth of technological research that ensures Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, stays at the top of his game (or at least prolongs his career another year).