The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 106 — The NMD has returned
NMD stands for Nomad, btw. I know you were wondering.
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear! Thanks for rocking with me to kick your Monday off. Appreciate you, family!
2,000 subscribers is RIGHT THERE. I can see it. I can feel it. Get your folks up on this! Subscribe! Win a pair of free kicks. It’ll be dope — I promise you!
Let’s jump in.
Adidas needs a new drawing board
(Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash)
Adidas is bringing the NMD back starting in 2021 with a slew of new colorways and the OG Black, red and blue colorway that started the hype, Complex reports.
That sentence felt so ridiculous to type. The NMD dropped just five years ago. It’s now essentially being retroed. Reintroduced. That shouldn’t happen. Think about that. And then think about where we were in December 2015 when it dropped.
The NMD was one of the hottest sneakers out when it first dropped on the heels of the Yeezy and UltraBoost.
It was an amalgamation of Adidas’ Micro Pacer, the Rising Star and the Boston Super all rolled into one with a boost sole.
It was the ultimate casual shoe. It took off. As a result, Adidas overtook Jordan Brand as the second most popular footwear brand in the U.S.
But then it got stale. Too much of the NMD came too fast. As the hype around the shoe grew, Adidas produced more. They created the NMD_R2, which just wasn’t as popular or as good. And it was more widely available.
They also ran into the issue of the sock sneaker look dying off and paving the way for the more chunky, dad shoe era that we live in today.
Now it’s a retro just a few years later. That’s an L. But that seems to be the Adidas playbook — they did the same thing with the UltraBoost in 2018. It won’t work, though. Let’s be real.
Retro’s come with a key ingredient: Nostalgia. The NMD hasn’t even existed long enough for anyone to talk about that. Many still have their OG pairs.
The idea of retroing this shoe after five years also doesn’t fit with the futuristic ethos it was born with. We should be talking about its next iterations.
This is indicative of a larger issue with Adidas. They’ve been getting beat at their own collaboration game for a few years now. Nike, and the rest of the industry, have taken it and ran with it. Adidas hasn’t had a great response just yet.
They’re working with the same old collaborators (what up, Bape!) or they’re finding ones that have been tapped before (looking at you, Sean Wotherspoon).
Beyoncé as a new collaborator is a win, but they can do so much more with her. Instead they’re just throwing a new color palettes and logos on old silhouettes.
That works for Nike because they have a long, incredible history to work with. Sneaker franchises that span decades — not just five or six years. Their shoes have whole legacies.
Adidas doesn’t have that luxury. They have to come up with new stuff, but they’re struggling to do it. Does that mean they’re cooked? No. But now is the time to get the ball rolling.
Come at the king and you best not miss
(Photo by who?du!nelson on Unsplash)
Well, that was quick. Nike’s legal battle with Warren Lotas is over after just a couple of weeks. And I’m pretty sure you already know what happened without even Googling it.
Nike won, obviously. Lotas took to Instagram to let us know. He said he complied with “everything [Nike] wanted” in their demands and also announced a new shoe dubbed the “Chainsaw” to replace the Pigeon and Chanclas Dunks that won’t ship because of the lawsuit.
That also looks mad Dunk-ish, but whatever. Customers can refuse the order and be refunded.
But, uh, yeah. This thing is over. Lotas didn’t put up that much of a fight, but that’s probably because he didn’t have much legal ground to stand on.
Yes, Nike has had its designs replicated before. But not as blatantly as Lotas was doing here. He overtly pointed at Nike with these designs.
He also sold mad pairs. The last Pigeon pre-order sold 25,000 pairs, reportedly, at $300 a pop. That’s a lot of money from a replica.
That all seems to be beside the point for Lotas now, though. As he was doing all of this, it always felt like there was some bigger purpose for all of this — like there was some point he wanted to prove.
He alluded to that with his comments in the Instagram post.
Look at it closely. Regardless of our actions, we believe NIKE’s claims, such as supposedly owning color combinations and functional, run-of-the-mill design elements, hurt everyone if we don’t push back. We believe they are using this lawsuit to suffocate small brands, customizers, and artists, not just WL. Even if you hate us, you need to understand the precedent this will set for creating as the little guy.
Lotas wanted to be a martyr for independent designers. Nike’s empire is huge. They own design. Technology. Color ways. It never ends. Lotas wanted to prove that Nike has essentially monopolized the industry. Does he have a point? To the independent sneaker designer, probably so.
But, unfortunately for them, the courts say no. And Nike has the capital to fight anyone on that. So the answer will remain no for the foreseeable future.
Still, that’s something to think about for us as the consumer. And, whether you like him or not, Lotas has brought that conversation to the forefront.
Never going to the Dior store again
Well, I’ve never been to a Dior store because, uh, #TeamBrokeBoi obviously. But I'll never have to thanks to Snapchat.
Dior's Snap lens lets you virtually try shoes on and buy them via Snapchat. I tried a pair on myself. Here’s a look ( PLZ DON’T ROAST MY SWEATS THX).
This is a pretty smart way to get product out. Snap is what makes this different than, say, Gucci’s Sneaker Garage app or even GOAT’s AR tool.
Augmented reality experiences can be wonky and glitchy. Snapchat’s are not — they’ve been at this thing for years. That lens is clear and it works well. Dior didn’t have to build it out. It would’ve sucked if they did.
They’re also opening the door for new customers in people who just use Snap but might not necessarily shop Dior.
Augmented reality continues to change the way we shop. This is one of the smartest example I’ve seen of that. Others will go down this same path as we adjust to retail life amid (and after) a global pandemic.
Now, if only they’d made something I could afford.
The sweetest package
That New Balance Jolly Rancher pack we talked about dropped over the weekend. New Balance sent their Influencer packages out to some folks and, I’ve got to say *puts on punglasses*, this packaging is sweet.
Shouts to the guy Big Wos for sharing these joints with the TL. It’s a literal Jolly Rancher pack.
The blue bag is really what’s getting me here. Bruh.
This is how you send out a package, y’all. As for me? Still waiting on mine. It probably got lost in the mail — don’t even worry about it. I’m sure it’s on the way…I’m sure…
What’s droppin, bruh?
Star Wars x Adidas collection — Wednesday, November 4
Shoe Palace x New Balance 997 “Great White” — Thursday, November 5
Jaden Smith x New Balance Vision Racer — Friday, November 6
Reebok Question “Gridiron” (GEORGETOWN COLORS) — Friday, November 6
Pharrell x NMD Hu Yellow — Saturday, November 7
Thanks so much for rocking with me today, family! I appreciate y’all, as always. It’s not lost on me how much time we spend together every week and I am truly grateful for it. And for y’all.
Don’t forget to tell your folks to subscribe! Free kicks are waiting.
Holla at y’all Wednesday, fam. Til then, peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯
Can you clarify re Lotas? It doesn't sound like the courts said anything here. Lotas decided not to enter a costly fight with Nike because it was able to intimidate him.
“ Instead they’re just throwing a new color palettes and logos on old silhouettes.“
DING DING DING - i love my ultraboosts but i’m not paying a premium for a CW. and i’m sure as hell not paying that kinda money for the nite jogger