The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 308 — Back like he never left 😬
The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 308 — Back like he never left 😬
Tom Sachs seems to be back in cahoots with Nike. Plus, Nike's new refurbished program is finally online.
Gooooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you, folks.
Hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead of you. I’m trying at-home hibachi for the first time this weekend for my wife’s best friend’s birthday. Should be fun! I hope we still get the Volcano Onion thing. That’s my favorite.
Anyway, enough about me. Let’s dig in.
Nike is back in the Sach
Nike appears to be back in business with Tom Sachs after the brand suspended his deal earlier this year.
Official images of another colorway of Sachs’ General Purpose shoe surfaced this week.
Following the allegations aimed at Sachs detailing some pretty abhorrent behavior, Nike released a statement saying the brand is not working with Sachs’ studio “at this time and have no release dates planned.” Reading it back, that’s a very specific statement. One easily backtrackable.
Sachs eventually gave us a half-baked apology for his behavior, but it came after things fell apart with Nike.
It seems, at some point, the relationship between the two sides was repaired. Well, at least enough for Nike to fire another GPS colorway up.
We don’t know the specifics of the deal it signed with Sachs or what sort of partnership the two sides had together. It’s useless to speculate about it without knowing some of those key details.
Yes, but: the optics of this are just bad.
Nike just told us it had no plans of working with Sachs in May when his deal was reportedly suspended. That was only five months ago. What has changed since then?
Now, with no explanation or warning, we’re seeing official images of a new colorway of this dude’s sneakers. There was no softening the blow of this. We’re just getting this shoe.
There’s more: Well, maybe. Nike was reportedly working with Sachs on a Mars Yard 3.0 that we thought may never see the light of day after Sachs’ transgressions. But it certainly feels like a possibility now.
The big picture: This is yet another instance where morality is trumped by profit. That’s been the vibe all year — it’s why Adidas eventually caved and circled back on the Yeezy stuff (and also why we now have the company’s new CEO explaining away Kanye West’s behavior). It’s how big business works.
As sad as this might be, it shouldn’t shock any of us.
Nike Refurbished is finally here
Nike is reselling sneakers. Well … sort of. But don’t worry. It’s in a way that’s actually good for us!
What’s happening: The Nike Refurbished program is migrating online. The Swoosh unveiled its beta website for the program earlier this week on Tuesday, Complex’s Riley Jones reports.
Though the program has existed since 2021, it hasn’t been a thing online. Only select Nike stores have had refurbished options available.
How it works: The refurbished section is where all of your sneakers that ended up being returned or exchanged go. You’ll also find B-grade models that don’t make it to retail.
Each pair is graded on a scale to determine its worth. The scale ranges from:
Like New: These are sneakers worn for a day or two before being returned.
Gently worn: These sneakers are worn “a little longer,” basically brushing up against Nike’s return policy window.
Slightly imperfect: These are the B-grade models that might have factory defects included.
Anything that is unable to be used gets shredded and contributes to Nike’s Grind material.
Once it’s officially graded, the price is set and it goes in-store and on Nike’s site.
So boom: We’ve finally got the refurbished program we’ve been waiting for. It’s been a long time coming. People have been excited about this for a number of reasons.
Obviously, it’s a plus on the environmental side. The more recyclable these kicks are the better. It’d also help if production wasn’t always as massive and constant, but this is still a good thing.
On top of that, though, this is an awesome tool for consumers to find legitimately good Nike sneakers at cheaper prices.
There’s often a stigma that comes with buying refurbished goods. But this is something that — if you have it — you should get it out of your mind now.
These are not beater pairs. You’re not just buying used, worn-down sneakers.
Plus, each and every sneaker is cleaned and sanitized before it goes back to you. It’s not quite buying new, but it’s close enough to it.
The other side: People have expressed concerns about resellers with this thing. I’m not concerned about them with this one, though.
Resellers sell used sneakers, yes. But the true profit in flipping sneakers is being able to provide top-notch quality. That’s not this.
Most of the pairs with resale value aren’t being returned or exchanged. They’d likely be flipped first.
Plus, are you really looking for hype when you buy refurbished sneakers, anyway? Come on, fam.
In the end, this is a great option for sneakerheads out there to do a little bit of treasure-hunting for good sneakers at below-retail pricing. Let’s not make it into something that it isn’t.
StockXpress???
StockX is finally adding an express shipping tool to its platform after years of customers asking for something like this.
The skinny: The resale platform is going to begin shipping pre-verified sneakers out to the public at an extra cost.
The app will have certain sneakers that have already been pre-verified by StockX’s authenticators available for sale on the app.
The pre-verification process will come with a shipping upcharge of $24.95 from the regular $10.
Customers who order the pre-verified items should receive their shoes within three business days.
The backdrop: This isn’t something unique or novel. GOAT — one of StockX’s biggest competitors — has been doing this for years. eBay also has something sort of similar through its Top Star program, but that’s limited in scope and only available for certain consumers.
The big picture: It’s nice that this is a thing, but there are still questions that need answering.
The biggest one is obvious. Where do these pre-verified sneakers come from?
Also, is express shipping available for every ask? It doesn’t seem to be here.
I’ll work on getting these answered. In the meantime, though, if you’ve used this option already let me know how your experience has been with it.
These denim Crocs…ain’t bad?
At the risk of having way too much Crocs appreciation appearing in the newsletter recently, I must admit that these Prolea Re Art x Levis Crocs are…kind of nice?
Now, look. Let me make one thing clear — I still do not like Crocs. And I never will. But what I can appreciate is a nice artistic piece of footwear and that’s exactly what these joints are.
A quick look:
The skinny: These joints are a triple collab (which I also hate) between Crocs, Levis and Proleta Re Art, a Japanese designer that specializes in one-of-one upcycled denim pieces.
That’s why I appreciate these so much. It’s the craft.
There are only 60 pairs of these joints and each pair is made out of deadstock denim from Levi’s archives.
Plus the designs are made with Sashiko denim designs, which literally always slap.
So there you have it, folks. Finally, a pair of Crocs that I actually like looking at. I’m not just a hater. See?
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW WHAT IT IS.
First, the homie Bobby Fresh kicked us off with these 38s. I had no idea these joints were this fly, y’all.
The homie Jaden followed up with more Jordan love. He pulled out the Playoff 8s. Sick, man.
The homie big Dubb came through with these custom Maxes. I’ll never get over this mismatch lace vibe they’ve got going. So fly.
The homie Kali Rhe came through with the Washed Denim Dunks as fresh as ever.
The Golden Boy came through with the Rammellzee Supreme Highs and, man, the art is just *chef’s kiss*. Shouts to Rammellzee, man.
Then the homie Big Crawf took us home with the Social Status Mac Attacks. These joints are SWEET. That green? Man. Can’t get enough of it.
Y’ALL DID DAT. Pat yourselves on the backs, folks. Job well done.
Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you all. You’re the best. Have a fantastic weekend. Let’s chat again next week.
Until then, peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes💯