Luxury Instagram accounts: Sneakers, streetwear and collectibles

Brand collaborations are a key element of streetwear, and Supreme Leaks News is one of the best ways to stay abreast of the latest partnerships. Despite what the name may suggest, it isn’t limited to Supreme: recent highlights shared with the account’s two million followers include a KAWS x The North Face down jacket, a pair of Balenciaga x Adidas Destroyed Stan Smith sneakers and a rare Stone Island x New Balance camouflage football kit.

Hailed as the Philippines’ ‘Sneaker King’, Christian ‘Bigboy’ Cheng owns a shoe collection valued at over $1 million and said to number more than 700 pairs. Among his most valuable sneakers are the self-lacing 2016 Nike MAG Back to the Future shoes, which were limited to 89 pairs, and the Dior x Nike Air Jordan 1, which Cheng managed to acquire before public release. Both of these now change hands for tens of thousands of dollars. Cheng also collects streetwear and is regularly seen in rare pieces by BAPE, Chrome Hearts and Supreme. On top of this, Cheng runs a gallery called Secret Fresh, which has become an important player in Manila’s contemporary art scene.

Alluding to the logo that adorns Nike sneakers, Miniswoosh is the moniker of Australian fashion designer and footwear collector Alexandra Hackett. In 2015 she launched a clothing and accessories collection in London, consisting of jackets, boiler suits, bags, rugs and chair seats upcycled from old Nike garments — socks in particular. It was a hit with musicians including Stormzy, Kendrick Lamar and Young Thug. As a consequence, in 2017 Hackett was invited by Nike to design her own Air Max sneakers. She still regularly designs for the brand and has a seriously enviable Air Max collection.

Whether it’s breaking the news of a new Gucci x Palace skateboard collection, documenting the history of the Timberland boot or declaring that wearing two belts at once is a new trend, Highsnobiety has become the hipsters’ handbook. With its manifesto of ‘youth culture through the prism of style’, it has nearly five million followers. Since its inception in 2005, Highsnobiety has grown from a news site and online store to include a print magazine, an advertising agency and bricks-and-mortar outlets in international airports. It also publishes hugely influential business reports on luxury retail trends.

If it’s cool and collectible, Joe Migraine probably owns it. The Detroit native not only has one of the largest collections of Supreme accessories — he claimed at one point that there were only ‘five or six’ releases he was missing — but also impressive hauls of rare KAWS figurines, Pokémon cards and vintage video games. His latest obsession? Reviving Beanie Babies mania.

Identical-twin Japanese models Ami and Aya are two of the most in-demand influencers in the world. Their bold, eclectic looks, which fuse street style with a Harajuku aesthetic and luxury accessories (as well as their signature hot-pink hairdos), have catapulted them to stardom and many a front row at Paris Fashion Week. They regularly work with brands such as Moncler, Prada and Louis Vuitton, and style icon Rihanna is said to be a fan.

This account belongs to the makers of the weekly Sneaker History podcast, which interviews collectors and designers, discusses market trends and tells the genesis stories behind some of the most popular sports shoes. With a particular focus on basketball, its Instagram account features photos of new releases, vintage adverts and impressive collections — along with lots of videos of Michael Jordan thundering home slam dunks in Nike Air Jordans.

In a world that can often feel dominated by men, Hypebae provides more than one million followers with the latest news on streetwear, sneakers and collectibles for women. It also reveals how this segment of the market can produce some mind-blowing collaborations. Recent releases include a range of velour tracksuits developed between Juicy Couture and Kraft Real Mayo, and a bright pink Maserati designed in conjunction with Mattel, the makers of Barbie.

Strapped Archives is a time machine that takes followers back to the early days of streetwear, from Will Smith in his fluorescent Fresh Prince  era through to Pharrell Williams’s pioneering skate-wear fits from the 2000s. Offering a history lesson in the ties between urban fashion and the hip-hop community, the account is equal parts nostalgic and inspiring.

To some, Mohamed al Safar is the director of Al Safar Group, one of Bahrain’s biggest holding companies. To others, he is known by his streetwear moniker, ‘Your friendly neighbourhood hypebeast’. Splitting his time between Los Angeles and the Gulf States, Al Safar uses Instagram to document his latest pick-ups of clothes, bags and shoes, and his particular passion for anything made by Louis Vuitton when Virgil Abloh was its head designer. He can also be seen driving some very cool cars, including vintage Lamborghinis, convertible Rolls Royces and top-of-the-range Mercedes G-Wagens.

Hanna Helsø is a big name in the world of sneaker collectors. The Norwegian psychology student has more than 300 pairs, from Vans to New Balance and Converse to Nike. She even has the words ‘Love is in the Air (Max)’ tattooed on the sole of her foot. Her home is eight hours’ drive from Oslo, so she often works with other members of the women’s sneaker community to track down the latest releases, which she then displays in her footwear library. She insists, however, that shoes are there to be worn, and proudly posts their outings.

Known as ‘Wex’ to industry insiders, Jon Wexler is responsible for some of the biggest releases in street culture. He spent two decades working at Adidas, where he was responsible for partnerships with Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams. After working with Shopify’s influencer programme, Wex went on to join Fanatics Collectibles, signifying that the trading-card trend shows no signs of slowing. On Instagram, he shares his latest work, which recently included a pair of sneakers released in collaboration with Galerie Perrotin, presented in a wooden crate.

Tremaine Emory’s first foray into fashion was a job in the stock room of a Marc Jacobs store in New York. Fast-forward nearly 20 years and he had risen to become a creative consultant on street style for The Face  magazine, brands such as Stüssy and Off-White, and musicians including Frank Ocean and André 3000. In 2019, Emory started his own clothing line, Denim Tears, which examines the role of cotton in America’s social history. Three years later he took on what is arguably the most influential role in streetwear: creative director of Supreme.

Sherlina Nyame is a digital content creator from London known for mixing couture brands with streetwear and sneakers — pairing, for example, Nike Air Force 1s with a Chanel quilted handbag. Her unique brand of high/low fashion has gained her well over a million followers and made her a bona fide globetrotting influencer. She has a whole room devoted to her sneaker collection, and is also the woman behind the hashtag ‘whatsurgirlwearing’, which encourages followers to share their outfits from the feet up.

The American designer Sean Wotherspoon got into the sneaker business at the age of 23, opening a vintage footwear store in his home state of Virginia. Four years later, Nike asked him to design his own Air Max. The result, known as the 1/97 model, has become one of the most collectible pairs of Air Max ever made. Today, Wotherspoon’s empire has expanded to seven stores, a YouTube channel and collaborations with Asics, Guess and Porsche. The street-style guru has more than a million followers on Instagram, and fans include the rappers Pusha T and Snoop Dogg and the artist Daniel Arsham.

Supreme Community aims to connect and empower collectors of all things Supreme. On Instagram, it shares highlights from its website, where members can access updates on what’s dropping each week, along with where and when every item is available and how much it’s going to cost. The site even times how long each piece takes to sell out — sometimes as little as 30 seconds — and alerts users to restocks. The community can also browse look books, vote on whether releases are hot or not, and upload photos of their favourite fits.

Jeff Staple is a designer, influencer and entrepreneur who knows more than most about urban fashion. He is the man behind the brand Staple Pigeon, has his own design agency and hosts the Business of Hype podcast for Hypebeast. Since graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York, Staple has also worked with brands including Nike, Fossil and Microsoft, and has been labelled ‘a master of streetwear and youth culture’. His Instagram page is a remarkably accurate barometer for what is cool right now.

On Baggy Society’s Instagram page, followers pit their fits against one another in a virtual showdown. The account is a great source of inspiration and styling tips for those seeking to achieve the perfect baggy look. It also regularly includes posts about forthcoming sneaker releases — helpful if you want to match the right footwear to a street-inspired oversized silhouette.

Supreme has attained almost cult-like status, but few are as dedicated to the brand as Japanese superfan Miho Umeboshi. She owns some of its rarest items, such as the Supreme x Sopranos  T-shirt, and has been known to wait in line for more than two days to pick up a hot drop. On Instagram, she shares her daily fits, as well as her impressive range of Supreme collectibles, which include a frying pan, a megaphone, breakfast cereal and chopsticks.

Christie’s Sneakers, Streetwear & Collectibles department focuses on current and vintage rarities across genres — from sport history and fashion to iconic pieces of hype culture. Auctions span footwear created for the great athletes of our time, moment-defining streetwear and limited-edition objects that chart the zeitgeist and the new wave of contemporary collecting. In 2022, Christie’s sold a Michael Jordan Upper Deck signed 1986 Fleer #57 rookie card for $1 million alongside the GOAT’s game-worn and signed player exclusive Nike 1998 Air Jordan Low XIIIs.