The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 341 — Time to show and prove 👀
Is Nike's Air Max DN the solution that the company has been looking for?
Gooooood morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate y’all.
What I’m rocking 👟: Nothing particular in my cart this week, but my Hal Studios x Asics Gel-1130s have been HEAVY in the rotation lately. The glacier colorway is perfect.
On my radar 👀: It’s Air Max week and this blue and volt Air Max 1 has my attention. I’m unsure if I’ll cop, but these are good.
MAILBAG FRIDAY IS COMING! Y’all know what time it is. Drop your questions for KYW in the mailbox here.
Let’s jump in.
Doing the DN
Air Max Day is nearly here and we’re about to be overloaded with the Air Max DN. It’s the clear headliner for Nike’s company-made special day this year.
The backdrop: For the uninformed, Air Max Day is Nike’s celebration of its Air lineage. The day recognizes the original release of the Air Max 1 on March 26, 1987.
Every year for the last decade, Nike has made it into a thing by giving consumers a new product or collaboration to buy. For example, the Sean Wotherspoon Air Max 97/1 was the big Air Max Day seller in 2018.
Where we’re at: Nike’s new Air Max DN (short for Dynamic) will be its focus this year, with five different colorways being released on Nike’s website and two more coming via a drop on the SNKRS app.
Zoom out: Nike is deeply invested in this sneaker. On last week’s earnings call, the company said the shoe would be on sale at “4,000 doors” of retailers. The company desperately wants this to work.
The company's overarching state of play is the reason why. Over the last year, Nike has focused on finding new “innovations” to spark consumer interest. This has been the biggest shareholder complaint. The company has reshifted and refocused multiple times in just a few months to try and figure things out.
The DN is supposedly one of those new ideas Nike thinks will work.
The shoe’s “Dynamic” air unit is Nike’s selling point. It’s the clunky unit you see in the heel. It has a dual-pressure tube that supposedly reacts with every step.
The brand describes the shoe as a “futuristic” product built to wear all day.
Here’s the thing: Nike can sell us on this all it wants to. The question is whether it’ll stick.
The Air Max DN might be new, but this strategy isn’t. Nike has built new Air Max models that use its air tech in new ways every year. Some of them you know well and some of them you don’t know at all. They just…didn’t hold.
A model like the Air Max 270 comes to mind with this one. That one worked. It became a casual staple because of its everyday comfort, accessibility and fashionable look.
On the flip side, the Air Max 2090 in 2020 flopped. 2021’s Air Max Pre-Day has a cult following but didn’t really stick. Do you remember 2023’s Air Max Pulse? I didn’t think so. And I love that shoe. It’s really good, but no one cared about it.
Be smart: Nike is trying to ensure this shoe doesn’t fall by the wayside like those others by using the same strategy it does with its hyped high-heat models.
The company’s promotional wave started months before this shoe’s release. We knew about these back in December.
On top of that, we got a Supreme x Nike Air Max DN collaboration to bring hype and exclusivity to the model.
We’re getting multiple day-one GR drops on Nike’s website and two SNKRS drops to prey on that good ole’ consumer’ FOMO. All bases are covered.
But… None of that is necessarily guaranteed to work. As much as Nike is propping up this model, the consumer has to connect with it. And most of the commentary I’ve seen about these hasn’t been about how good they are — it’s been about how Nike is forcing them upon us.
Maybe they’ll stick! Maybe they won’t! I have no idea. But you just can’t force this kind of thing. It has to just…happen.
We’ll find out if it does on Tuesday.
Can less be more for the Air Force 1?
I thought about the state of the Air Force 1 a ton this weekend. I’m fascinated by it.
The backdrop: I mentioned this briefly in Friday’s newsletter, but Nike Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said the company is cutting back on some of its “largest lifestyle franchises” moving forward. Specifically, he mentioned the Air Force 1.
The why: Friend says the company wants to pivot and focus on bringing more “newness” to the table like the DN mentioned above.
Retro just isn’t selling the way it used to these days. It’s so obvious to see.
Search Air Force 1 and scroll up and down the page. You’ll a ton of colorways with plenty of discounts available.
I’ve said it before and’ll say again: Discounts are great for us. I love them. The brands do not. They’d rather stop selling us inventory than sell it at a discount.
That’s why this and some other retro models will be discontinued.
What does that look like? That’s what I’ve been asking myself all weekend. The Air Force 1 is a staple for Nike. It’s held it down through so many eras.
This is one of the few shoes that has evolved from being a basketball model without a signature name behind it into a cultural icon.
Music has been made about these sneakers. Virgil Abloh turned them into art.
The Air Force 1 is to Nike what Spiderman is to Marvel. It just doesn’t exist in the same way without these shoes.
My thought: Yes, we’ll see fewer Air Force 1 collaborations out there. And people who love the creative pairs will probably have difficulty getting them. There will also be fewer colorways for folks to choose from on GR models.
Honestly, that’s not a bad thing. I think the less we see of this shoe, the better. You don’t want a legendary model like this one to get too stale on you.
But… It’ll be a 100-degree day in Antarctica before there will ever be a time when Nike doesn’t have a clean pair of Ice Whites to sell you. I just cannot see that happening.
Nike poaches Germany from Adidas
I’d never imagined a future where Adidas wouldn’t be the sponsor of the German national team. We’re all used to seeing the three stripes on those kits.
But that day has officially come.
What’s happening: Nike signed a deal to be the sponsor for all of Germany’s national teams for seven years from 2027 to 2034.
The German soccer federation announced the deal on Twitter. It was such a strange announcement because it acknowledged how shocking this is.
The DFB called the decision to abandon Adidas for Nike a “drastic event” in a tweet.
It justified the decision by saying Nike made the best offer to the federation. Passing on it to keep up its relationship with Adidas would’ve been irresponsible.
The other side: People are miffed by this decision because Adidas is Germany. As the federation tweeted, the brand has a 70-year relationship with the country’s national teams. Its best and most memorable moments have come with the three stripes.
Seeing a check instead of stripes there for the Olympics, the World Cup and more is just…going to be a little weird. I guess we’d better get used to it.
Shoutout LeBron
I don’t know about y’all, but LeBron gifting the Duquesne Dukes pairs of LeBron 21s before their upset over BYU is one of the top moments of the men’s NCAA tournament for me.
The backdrop: The Dukes’ head coach, Keith Dambrot, coached LeBron for two years at St. Vincent-St. Mary back in the day. And Associate Head Coach Dru Joyce is one of James’ former high school teammates.
It’s a full-circle moment that ended in something these kids will never forget. Love to see that.
What’s dropping’, bruh?
Air Max 1 86 “Air Max Day” — Tuesday, March 26
Nike Air Max DN — Tuesday, March 26
Jjjjound x Adidas Samba — Wednesday, March 27
New Balance MiUSA 990v4 “Arctic Grey” — Thursday, March 28
A Ma Maniére x Air Ship “Vintage Green” — Friday, March 29
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate y’all. Have a fantastic week. We’ll chat again
Don’t forget to submit those questions for the mailbag! I’ll be looking forward to it. Until then, folks. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
- Sykes 💯