The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 361 — Beauty in the eye of the beholder ✨
A'ja Wilson's logo has your attention. Isn't that all that matters?
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate y’all!
Have a great weekend? I hope so! I certainly did. I’m feeling pretty energized coming into this new week.
In my cart 🛒: Made a bit of a reach back last week and copped the Japan-exclusive New Balance 1700. This is one I’ve been eyeing for years now. Got a pretty good deal on the aftermarket. Can’t wait for them to get here.
On my radar 👀: The Kith x Asics Gel-Kayano 12.1 is coming this week and that Knicks colorway is CALLING me. I’m not a Knicks fan, but they’re gorgeous.
Let’s jump in.
A’ja Wilson’s logo is doing exactly what it’s supposed to
Nike and A’ja Wilson unveiled the new logo for her signature sneaker over the weekend and, boy, it felt like everyone had something to say about it.
A look: Here’s a quick look. I won’t sit here and lie to you guys like I knew exactly what this was at first glance. I had no idea what this was. It took me a while to get it.
What you’re seeing: That’s an A with a slight slant. The sparkle with the logo seemed to throw people off (I’m included in that!).
The backdrop: You have to look at the background of this logo to understand what’s going on here.
Nike dropped a promotional video for Wilson with the tagline, “If you don’t know how I shine, now you will.” You can see that shine in the logo.
That also came with a sketch page presenting an exploration of the logo and how it came to be.
Initially, it looked like an X standing next to a 1. I didn’t get it! Even now, days later, other people still don’t get it. And many of them still just don’t like it.
People don’t want to do that extra work. It’s like a good joke — if you have to explain it, is it really that good? That’s a fair question to ask.
For me? Even after my early confusion and trepidation, I’m digging this.
Let’s be real: Most logos we see today are just weird mashups of some initials or lettering specific to a player or company or whatever the entity is. We don’t get the Jumpman anymore, folks. Those days are gone.
Brands know that we’re lazy. They are, too. If we don’t want to do the extra work in understanding an edgier logo and its meaning, they won’t put that extra oomph into creating one. We’ll just get the simple initials that we’re used to
As an aside, this is why I was so impressed by Victor Wembanyama’s Alien logo. That’s unique in a way we don’t see anymore.
My take: What we’re getting in Wilson’s logo here might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but at least it’s different! It connects with the athlete and is something we haven’t seen before.
The big picture: Most importantly, we were all talking about it. As Nike ramps up its marketing push for Wilson’s signature sneaker, conversations about her logo and its appearance will continue.
In the end, isn’t that what a good logo is supposed to do? Being provocative can be just as good as being pretty. And, personally, I don’t think it looks too bad, either. Maybe that’s just me, though.
We’ll see how this joint resonates with people moving forward. If it doesn’t click, Nike can always change it like the brand did with LeBron’s logo back in the day.
Let me know what you think. How do you feel about this logo? Answer in the poll below. Also feel free to sound off in the comments!
The Shareholders vs. Nike
We’ve talked a ton lately about Nike coming after people in the courtroom. But, today, the brand gets a taste of its own medicine.
What’s happening: Nike, company CEO John Donahoe and CFO Matthew Friend have been labeled as plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer and Check, LLP on behalf of the company’s shareholders for the brand’s DTC strategy, Footwear News’ Shoshy Ciment writes.
They argue that Nike and its top brass deliberately misled its investors about the success of its direct-to-consumer strategy over the last few years.
The backdrop: Remember, Nike adopted its DTC strategy at the top of 2020.
The strategy emphasized using the brand’s digital arm to sell its products to consumers through its channels.
On the backend, the brand began to slowly dissolve and withdraw from its partnerships with longtime wholesale partners like DSW, Macy’s, Foot Locker, and more.
That strategy proved pretty successful for a while as we entered the pandemic. Consumers could only buy things online. This was a stroke of serendipity for Nike.
Fast-forward: It didn’t last. Eventually, as the worst of the pandemic passed, we all went outside again and shopped at various places other than Nike stores and outlets.
On top of that, the marketplace went sour.
Like everyone else, the brand ran into supply chain issues. Inflation spikes caused people to prioritize essentials over unnecessary goods like sneakers.
All this created an inventory glut for Nike, which caused it to steeply discount its products.
To be fair to shareholders, yes, Nike probably held on to this strategy for far too long. Phil Donahoe and company should’ve had the foresight to return to wholesale sooner and spread the wealth a bit. Not doing so did cost the brand.
But… Nike wasn’t the only company to do this during the pandemic. I hate DTC as much as anyone does. It destroyed many small businesses out there that could’ve used Nike’s help.
But DTC might not even be the top issue for Nike right now. It’s certainly not why it’s going through the slump it’s going through.
I’m not sure how much I actually buy into this case.
The Nike x Hyperice collab is…interesting
You wanted innovation, you’ve got it. Even if it’s not exactly what you were asking for.
What’s happening: Nike’s latest collaboration with Hyperice — which specializes in creating tools for athlete performance and recovery — is pretty neat.
The two created a pair of boots and a vest to enhance the wearer’s warm-up and recovery sessions.
The Hyperice boots are built with an air-compression massage and heating system that distributes heat through the upper while massaging the foot and ankle.
Similarly, the vest monitors and maintains body temperatures using built-in thermal sensors. You can cool off or heat up without using an ice pack or heat pack. It’s pretty cool stuff.
All the equipment can be controlled and adjusted remotely to the wearer’s specifications.
As someone who gets nerdy about this stuff, it’s pretty cool to see this technology. Especially considering the lineage — this feels like an advancement we don’t get if not for the Nike Air Mag. Thank you for your service, Marty McFly.
The when: Nike plans on distributing some of this tech to 100 of its athletes at the Olympic games in a few weeks, Complex’s Brendan Dunne reports. We’ll probably see all this at some point this summer.
When will regular folk like us get it? There’s no release date yet, and I wouldn’t expect one anytime soon.
The big picture: This is an impressive innovation from a technological standpoint. It could potentially be a big breakthrough in the recovery process for athletes, creating a bit of a shortcut there.
Jae Tips has another one
The second half of this year was already stacked with some dope drops on the way. Now, we’ve got Jae Tips throwing his hat in the ring with Saucony.
The designer took a break from the festivities in Paris for fashion week to announce on Instagram that his take on the Omni 9 ProGrid is coming in August 2024.
We’ll be getting both adults and kids sizing in this one, too.
Why this is big: After an extremely active 2023 with two sneaker releases in a calendar year, Jae Tips and Saucony had been starkly quiet for most of this year. That was strange considering that, by most accounts, Tip’s collaboration was among the most widely-revered in the sneaker world by fans and critics alike.
That won’t be the case in a couple of months. Can’t wait to see how this drop goes.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Kith x Asics Gel-Kayano 12.1 — Monday, June 24
Nike Air Force 1 Low “NY vs NY” — Tuesday, June 25
Nike Sabrina 2 “Court Vision” — Tuesday, June 25
New Balance 1000 “Angora” — Wednesday, June 26
JJJJound x Adidas Samba — Thursday, June 27
Union LA x Nike Field General ‘82 — Thursday, June 27
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate you for giving me a bit of your time this morning.
Do you have any tips, hints, or questions? Email them to me at mikedsykes@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.
Have a fantastic week. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. We out.
-Sykes💯
Her logo looks like a sports bra and you can't convince me otherwise.
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