Throughout the sneaker community, there has been a large range of speculation regarding this year’s Nike Valentine’s Day drop. After last year’s sub-par Air Force 1s release, all sneaker fanatics were praying for something more exciting and intriguing. Over the course of this past month, various Instagram pages dedicated to shoes have shown sneak peeks of supposed Nike Valentine’s Day sneakers. So, with these possible releases, there’s a beaming question: cop or drop? 

Starting off with my personal favorite, and the singular sneaker I want to get married in, the Air Jordan 1 Mid “Valentine’s Day.” The shoe itself has a soft, rosy-purple hue coating the toe box and is accompanied by large flashes of glossy red covering the iconic Nike swoosh. In addition to the brilliant and festive colors, there is one detail about this sneaker that I am absolutely infatuated with: the back.

While typical Jordan 1 Mids are left empty and plain across the back, and Jordan 1 Lows sport the simple Air Jordan logo, these shoes have taken a spunky twist towards the Valentine’s Day theme. The back of each sneaker within the pair is accessorized with matching roses—in the three most prominent shades in this colorway; a plum purple, scarlet red, and pastel violet. In addition to just being the most stunning shoes I’ve ever seen, Air Jordan 1 Mids are the most comfortable items I have ever placed on my feet. So, I’d say these shoes are a must-cop for all sneaker lovers. 

Following in the footsteps of last year, this drop contains yet another pair of relatively mid and unsought-after Air Force 1s. Continuing to present the same simple leather body, these Air Forces are only slightly more appealing than the basic white ones everyone already has.

Again, starting with a simple white base, these sneakers are then enhanced with accents of pastel pink with adorable rose and red beading reading the words ‘Nike’ across the lace front. These Air Forces are another underwhelming sneaker from such a hyped-up release; therefore, I’m going to have to say drop.

I wish I was able to say I’d saved the best and most revolutionary sneaker for last. However, Nike majorly missed the mark on these Dunk Lows. Quite frankly, they look more like my grandmother’s curtains than “February’s most sought-after shoe.” The only positive thing I have to say about these sneakers is that the Dunk Lows are extremely comfortable.

Other than that, the putrid fuchsia and magenta colorway of these shoes, combined with the disgusting pink sheer ruffle surrounding the swoosh, makes me quite literally want to vomit. Whoever designed these sneakers deserves to be fired at this exact moment, and for that reason, I will one-hundred percent be saying drop to these shoes. 

Overall, I wouldn’t be majorly upset if this release never ended up happening—something Nike loves to do. Although I am infatuated with the Air Jordan 1 Mids, there are plenty of other colorways that almost perfectly match this specific sneaker. Regardless, I am completely underwhelmed and borderline appalled by the designers of these shoes, and recommend that someone from Nike’s design team gets fired as soon as possible.