The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 102 — Drizzy SZN is here for Nike
If you're reading this, Drake merch is OTW
Good morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with your boy on this lovely Monday morning.
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Certified Merch Boy
(Photo by Joshua Chua on Unsplash)
The relationship between Drake and Nike has always been so puzzling to me. There’s just so much uncovered ground there.
That might be changing soon. Nike and Drake are dropping merch to pair with his next album “Certified Lover Boy” that is supposedly coming soon. Leaks popped up on these internet streets back in August.
Looking back, we probably should’ve saw this coming the moment the “Laugh Now, Cry Later” video’s first scene on Nike’s Oregon campus played. It makes too much sense.
But that hasn’t been par for the course for these two sides. Nike has had Drake on its roster for years but has never really tapped fully into his influence.
He’s easily hip-hop’s biggest pop star, yet they’ve barely tapped him as a creative and a collaborator in the same ways that they have with Travis Scott.
Drake does have Jordans in OVO flavors, but they’ve never really caught on in the same ways Travis’ joints have.
There are a couple reasons for this. First, as influential as he is in music, Drake just isn’t a style icon. That part is clear.
He’s not like a Travis Scott or a Kanye West. You don’t just become what they are by being famous. Before Travis’ Nike collabs, he was running around in classic Dunks. Ye is, well, Ye. We know how he gives it up on the fashion side.
Drake’s biggest drops with Nike have been the OVO 10’s and OVO 12’s — a couple of two-tone, bland versions of classic sneakers. They lack personality, unlike anything Travis Scott touches.
The other thing here is that Drake did plan on leaving Nike for Adidas at one point before Pusha T sabotaged it. And that was in 2018 when Nike really began tapping in to creatives in entertainment. He simply missed out on that wave.
That’s in the past now. And this merch feels like an official reset of sorts for their relationship. This CLB stuff, from the look of it, feels like Drake.
The foundation of his musical career has been his meticulously crafted image as a hopeless romantic who doubles as a pop star. It’s corny, but it works.
This merch captures that down to the finest detail. The cupid on the shirt, the faded lip stick on the hat. It’s all there.
This is going to work. This merch will sell and it’ll probably go quickly. The only question is will it become something for them to build off in the same way a Travis Scott has.
We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, somebody tell the boy to drop the album.
Nike’s dark side in detail
(Photo by bantersnaps on Unsplash)
The Nike Oregon Project was once one of the Swoosh’s crown jewels. The program, formerly run by head coach Alberto Salazar, was supposed to revitalize American distance running.
That’s done now. It doesn’t exist anymore.
The program was shut down last year after Salazar was accused of doping and subsequently suspended by the U.S. Antidoping Agency.
Runner Mary Cain also detailed an absolutely heartbreaking and horrifying account of abuses she faced in the program while under Salazar including, but not limited to, forcing her to drop excessive and unhealthy amounts of weight.
And that’s just the surface. Matt Hart’s new book “Win at All Costs” reveals more on Salazar’s abusive behavior — particularly with the team’s women. The NYT’s Kevin Draper detailed an anecdote from the book in which runner Kara Goucher had to battle to stop them from cutting her salary because she was pregnant.
Nike and Salazar’s mistreatment of women is covered heavily in “Win at All Costs.” Kara Goucher, one of the Oregon Project’s most successful runners, had her salary reduced by tens of thousands of dollars after she became pregnant. A clause in her contract, and practically all Nike running contracts, allowed the company to reduce her salary if she didn’t compete in a sanctioned race for 120 days, a near impossibility while having a child.
This is downright disgusting. No other way to describe it. And it was just last year that Nike finally pledged to stop penalizing athletes for being pregnant. That is unconscionable. Unfortunately though, as Draper points out, this is par for the course throughout Nike’s history. They’ve seen scandal after scandal.
Can things be better? Sure, they can. Will they? I wouldn’t hold my breath. As we speak, Salazar is still a Nike employee and they’re funding his appeal.
So, yeah. Can’t quite call it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Do it for the Gram
Instagram has always felt like a double edged sword in the sneaker world.
That’s perfectly detailed Rae Witte’s latest at Input Magazine. She spoke with experts in the game about how Instagram has morphed sneaker culture — both good and bad.
On one hand, It’s a place where you can discover new pairs, share your collection and find other people who share your passion.
On the other, Instagram is a huge part of the gentrification of the sneaker game. It built hype culture into the monster that eventually turned sneakers into a rich person’s game.
Jazerai Allen-Lord explains it here in the piece much better than I could.
When she first started working with Kicks On Fire in 2007, before Instagram or Twitter, Allen-Lord remembers how difficult it was to find other women in the space…"There was an excitement about finding each other," she said. "Every woman that I'm close to, in sneakers, I met on social media. So, it was a gift to celebrate finally having a space to like appreciate our art, style and find our community, but then that amplification of that style and that community it just got commodified and eaten up."
Instagram made sneakers mainstream, which killed the game’s gatekeeper-y vibe — which is really good! But it also turned it into something that had less to do with passion and more to do with value. And that stinks.
The game is the game, tho. Is what it is. Either way, this piece is well worth your time.
Somebody get Dennis Rodman, plz
Have you seen the video of Dennis Rodman unboxing Yeezy’s like, well, only Dennis Rodman could? If not, don’t worry. I got you.
This is a crime against humanity. First of all, who opens boxes like that? Like, fam. I KNOW you have multiple cuts on your hand from this. Second, does Dennis even know what he’s unboxing? I’m betting no.
Third, yo, WHO OPENS BOXES LIKE THIS?!? Come on, son. That’s gross.
What’s droppin’ bruh
Union LA x Converse Chuck Taylor — Tuesday, October 13
Reebok Question Mid “Ankle Reaper” — Wednesday, October 14
Nike Air Raid — Thursday, October 15
Kobe V Protro “5 rings” — Thursday, October 15
Union LA x Air Jordan 4 (SNKRS restock) — Friday, October 15
That’s a wrap for Monday! Thank you so very much for being here with me today. I appreciate your time and hope you enjoyed the content! See you on Wednesday morning for the KYW thread!
Don’t forget! Subscribe! We’re well on the way to 2k! I can feel it.
As always, family. Thank you. Peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯