KYW Monthly Mailbag — 📥 The end of Ivy Park, Rihanna excitement and more
Who could've possibly seen this coming?
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. It’s monthly mailbag time. Thanks for submitting questions for March — I appreciate y’all.
HOUSEKEEPING: KYW is out next week, as I’ll be traveling to Indiana to participate in a sneaker symposium. It’s gonna be a cool time. Appreciate the homie Aaron for putting this together.
Let’s get into it.
What’s next for Beyoncé and Ivy Park?
I’ll be transparent — this wasn’t actually a question from anyone. But with the late-breaking news that Beyoncé and Adidas were mutually agreeing to split, I felt like this was worth a quick interjection. I hope y’all don’t mind.
The skinny: The two sides mutually agreed to split apart on Thursday, according to the Hollywood Reporter, citing “major creative differences” as the reason behind the split.
The backdrop: This follows a report from the Wall Street Journal in February that Ivy Park’s sales were falling way short of expectations.
Sales reportedly dipped by more than 50% in 2022, going from $93 million in 2021 to $40 million in 2022 after being internally projected to jump to $250 million.
The 2023 outlook wasn’t much brighter. Adidas only projected Ivy Park sales to hit $65 million.
All the while Adidas reportedly paid Beyoncé $20 million annually as the face of the brand.
On top of those tanking numbers, Adidas reportedly wasn’t too pleased that Beyoncé wasn’t often seen in the brand or promoting the brand.
Add all that together and what do you get? A failed partnership.
Let’s be real: Adidas told us back in February that the Ivy Park brand was “strong,” but after seeing those numbers it was hard not to know this breakup was coming sooner rather than later.
Circumstances were ripe for it. Not only is this following Adidas’ breakup with Kanye West and Yeezy, but it also comes as new CEO Bjorn Gulden is trying to figure out solutions for the brand moving forward. The scorched earth path where the brand cuts its losses on some projects seemed possible — maybe even inevitable. Now, here it is.
The question is what happens next for both sides? Here’s where they are right now.
From Adidas’ perspective: The brand is in the middle of a rebuild. It’s clear Adidas is rethinking its collaborations and who it works with.
The brand doesn’t necessarily have to get someone else on board quickly. It has Bad Bunny and can lean on him here.
Plus, Jerry Lorenzo is finally coming with new things in 2023, which should be exciting.
From Beyoncé’s perspective: This is actually the more interesting thing here. It’s clear she came up from this deal with Adidas. It didn’t work, but she still netted $20 million annually from it. That’s a W.
But still, losing a business venture like Ivy Park and a partner like Adidas long-term definitely hurts.
The pop star has a bit of soul-searching to do when it comes to this apparel thing. She only recently took over the brand fully in 2016 after buying out Topshop.
Having Adidas as a partner was supposed to make things easier. It didn’t. She has to figure out why that is and what success actually looks like for this brand. Maybe it’s just her running it independently for now and doing smaller drops to further build momentum again.
The bottom line: This move makes sense for both parties involved. It’s best they go their separate ways. But it’s still pretty disappointing this didn’t work out.
Hopefully, whatever comes next does.
Why hasn’t Nike/Jordan tried to make a protro version of shoes older than the Kobes?
The reader continues…Is it just a desire to keep supply low and cachet/value high or something else?
This is a fantastic question. It centers around the Kobe models we’re seeing retroed by Nike these days.
The backdrop: They come back in “protro” form, which is a combination of the words “performance” and “retro.” Kobe made it up himself.
The protro Kobe models — and other models for that matter — come with upgraded materials in them.
It’s all in an effort to help older models the shoe meet the current day’s performance standards. Nike will do things like upgrade cushioning and use different materials for the midsole, for example. The Kobe 1 Protro is a great example of this.
So the question is: Why doesn’t Nike do this with other, more popular models like the Jordan 1, for example? There are a couple reasons that I can see here. It’d undermine too much of the rest of what Nike does.
First, as the reader said, the brand wants to keep demand high on retro. It has done that, traditionally, with shortened stock. Creating performance versions would be fun, but it undermines that premise.
Plus, the Jordan line still makes shoes purely for hooping. That’s what the latest Jordan models are. Retro-fitting older models cannibalize that market. Basically, you’d likely wear a hoop version of the Jordan 1 before you’d wear a Jordan 37.
The same goes for older versions of Nike shoes, too. They want you to buy what’s current for performance — not what came before.
Let me be clear: This is a thing that can absolutely happen. We see it all the time with NBA players when they have their shoes reworked for performance.
The clearest example I have in mind is Thabo Sefalosha wearing the Air Max 90 after working his way back from a broken leg following an incident of police brutality. He’d gotten custom Air Maxes from the Air Max team specifically for him to hoop in.
That’s an extreme example, but it just goes to show you what’s actually possible. This can be done.
The bottom line: We’re just never going to see it. There’s too much money being made for it.
What are you most excited about regarding Fenty x Puma and for Puma as a whole?
The thing that I’m most excited about when it comes to Rihanna is just wondering what exactly it is that she’ll bring to the brand in her second go-round.
It’s been a while: Rihanna last worked with Puma back in 2017. Since then, she’s done a lot.
First and foremost, she gave us ANTI.
She’s also launched multiple brands, including Savage Fenty, Fenty Beauty and Fenty with LVMH. We talked about all that previously.
And, let’s not forget, she’s also become a mom!
These are all huge, life-changing events. She’s a drastically different person than she was when she left in 2017. She’s learned a ton and experienced a ton that I’m sure will come into play with Puma. I’m most curious about what that looks like — both from a product angle and a storytelling angle, as well.
What I’m expecting: I think there’s a chance for a Yeezy-like explosion here with Rihanna. That’s saying a lot, I know. But it feels real.
Obviously, she has one of the most passionate — and sometimes mean, honestly — fanbases out there.
Plus, it’s clear she has a real passion for her work and what she does. She wears her product. She flaunts it. She’ll do the same thing here.
It takes more than those two factors for this to explode, obviously. But the foundation is there. And I’m interested in seeing how both these huge brands attack it.
P.S…I’m begging. Please bring back the Creeper, Rih. Please.
Other than A’ja Wilson, who else should have a signature line?
So this question is following up on our story from Monday surrounding Sabrina Ionescu’s signature shoe. I’d mentioned A’ja Wilson directly as someone who is more than deserving of a signature model, considering her resume. She’s the biggest, most obvious name.
Others who I would consider:
Jewell Loyd — She’s a 4-time All-Star, a 2-time WNBA champion and one of the most clutch players in the W. She’s also got that Mamba in her.
Chelsea Gray — Also a 4-time All-Star and a WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces. She may be the best point guard in the league and absolutely went on a tear during the Aces Finals run to win a Finals MVP.
Arike Ogunbowale — She’s a 2-time All-Star through 4 seasons in the W and is probably going to lead the league in scoring a few seasons here and there.
Jonquel Jones — Jones is one of the best 3-or-so players in the league and she’s only 29 years old. This is a no-brainer right here.
Skylar Diggins-Smith — Shee also might be the best point guard in the league and has been one of the WNBA’s faces for nearly a decade as a 6-time All-Star. She led the Dreamer 2 campaign with Puma already.
Brittney Griner — She’s one of the most dominant paint presences in the WNBA, one of its best players and a 6-time All-Star. Easy money.
Names like Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi weren’t included here because they’re on the brink of retiring, but you get the point by now. There’s lots of talent in the W. And there’s room for a lot more signature athletes.
Make it happen, sneaker brands.
What’s the best style of sneaker when you need to dress up a little?
The reader continues…Throw a nice button-up on and what type of sneaker are you wearing?
So, personally, I’ll be honest — I’m not the biggest fan of wearing a suit with sneakers. That’s hilarious because I definitely did that for at least part of my wedding.
I was much more partial to the loafer look. It was just…cleaner.
To be clear: Sneakers with suits aren’t bad. The margin for error is just extremely thin in my eyes. It either looks extremely classy or extremely tacky.
My rules when doing it were as follows:
First: go with a classic silhouette. Nike Dunk, Stan Smith, Jordan 1, Jordan 3. Maybe even an 11? You want something simple and non-futuristic. Personally, for me, I gravitate toward the Dunk. I also strictly keep the cut low.
Second: Keep the colors muted. I didn’t want the sneakers to outshine the actual suit for the occasion. This rule is probably the most flexible for me.
Third: ALWAYS BRING THE SHOES TO THE FITTING FOR YOUR SUIT. The worst thing in the world is wearing sneakers that don’t fit with the pants you’re wearing.
The most important thing of all, though, is to make sure you like the look. Don’t force it. You’ll hat it in the end if you do.
#TheKicksWeWear
LET’S GOOOOOOOO
First, the homie JR came through with the Far Out Concepts Air Max 1. I can’t pick these over the Mellows but DAMN they look fantastic.
The homie Matt and his little man came through STUNTING with the Air Max 1 and Forum combo.
The homie Yosh popped in with the Social Status “Chocolate Milk” Dunks and these are as spectacular as ever.
The homie Acumarino popped out with the A Ma Maniére AJ3 and I WILL HAVE THESE SOMEDAY.
The homie Rick Dubb came through with the Blu The Great AJ1 mids AND I WILL HAVE THESE TOO, ONE DAY.
The homie Kali popped out in these AMAZING Forums. Adidas was really in the bag with these joints. Wow.
And then my guy Tej sent us home with the Bodega 9060s coming to you LIVE FROM THE LOUVRE. Wow. What a flex.
SMOKED THAT Y’ALL. WOW.
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with me. And thanks to everyone who participated in today’s mailbag. Y’all sent lots of questions, so if I didn’t get to you this month I’m sorry!
Talk to y’all in a week or so! Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
Nike has experimented with various updated AJ 1s over the years with the Zoom CMFT and AJ 1 Zoom (with the zoom strobel) being the most recent examples but they don't seem dedicated to making it work or really making retros that perform on court.
I wear suits pretty frequently for work and I always wear sneakers. I got to meet the Pres. and Veep a few weeks ago and wore a pair of retro Jordan 1s.
Fuck it, why not?