Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning! I appreciate you, as always, you beautiful people.
Big news for America last week, huh? Shouts to Biden-Harris 2020 for getting it done. Fight ain’t over tho. We still got senate runoffs in Georgia to win for Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock. Let’s get it done, Georgia.
Alright, fam. Time to dive in.
If it ain't broke…
(Photo by Sébastien Chiron on Unsplash)
Naming things properly is really important. That’s how people organize, compartmentalize and remember things. From a consumer standpoint, difficult names make buying things unnecessarily harder and more of a chore — just look at the X Box Series X debacle from September.
That’s why it’s so confusing to see the “Air Max 3” dropping in a couple hours. Most of us know this shoe as the Air Max 90 — for all intents and purposes, that’s what it is. But Nike’s 30th anniversary retro for the silhouette brings back its old name.
A quick history lesson.
The Air Max 90 was originally named the Air Max 3. Tinker Hatfield and company dropped it in 1990 (obviously), billed as the next innovation in running.
This shoe transcended running and moved into pop culture. It was retrofitted and renamed the Air Max 90 just 10 years after it’s OG drop. It was easily the most identifiable shoe in Nike’s Air Max line and still is today.
Hatfield disrupted sneaker design with the 90 by bringing more color to it. That OG Infrared colorway was considered radical back in 1990. That’s why it’s a staple today.
Which is exactly why it’s so confusing that the shoe is being renamed, once again. Nike is rekindling its history, which is fine after 30 years.
Let’s be real. The Air Max 90 name is old enough to buy a pack of cigarettes now. After 20 years of existence as the AM90, it’s taken on a life of its own. That’s the name that bears most of its history. Why shouldn’t we just leave it at that at this point?
The name change has led to a lot of tweets like this.
And that’s never a good thing to see. Especially when we’re talking about a historic shoe like this one.
It’s legitimately shocking to see because, before it is a shoe company, Nike is a marketing machine. They spend billions annually on massive marketing campaigns. They know what works — usually, anyway. This time they clearly missed.
This is what happens when a brand controls storytelling and not the consumer. The stories and the history behind the kicks we wear (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!?) are what make them special.
Those stories should always come from the consumer who actually wears the shoe — the one who experiences it. This is a clear case of a brand taking full control of that story and screwing it up.
People have worn the Air Max 90 for years now as the Air Max 90 — not the Air Max 3. And the Air Max 90 is exactly what it should be. Anything else won’t register.
Warren Lotas. Buddy. Plz stop.
(Photo by Justin Campbell on Unsplash)
Gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run. That’s how that goes, right? Shouts Kenny Rogers.
Somebody give that memo to Warren Lotas. Buddy is back at it again with Nike after the swoosh dropped another injunction in his lap for his replacement sneaker. You know, the one that looks like a Dunk but isn’t a Dunk but is also a different fake Dunk. This thing.
Instead of just, you know, stopping production of this sneaker to avoid going through what he literally just went through, he’s countersuing Nike, according to Complex.
Lotas is arguing that the trademarks on the Dunk are unenforceable — that the design principles that make it are “utilitarian.”
“In the counterclaim from this week, Lotas' lawyers say that Nike's trade dress, a type of intellectual property concerning a product's appearance, for the Dunk is invalid. Trade dress by definition cannot serve a functional purpose. The claim argues that certain elements of the Dunk that Nike is trying to protect, like its stitching and upper panels, are utilitarian and are thus ‘invalid and unenforceable as a matter of law.’,”
Yeah, this is going to get ugly. The gloves are off on both sides. If his argument proves successful, it will change the Dunk forever. We’ll see a lot more folks like Warren Lotas coming forward with more replica silhouettes.
And that’s a big deal for the Dunk— especially while the shoe is in the midst of a resurgence.
All that for a mask?
Hello there! And welcome back to “We already live in the dystopian future that we see in movies,” part, uh, I lost count.
Today’s episode features Adidas, who restocked their face masks for the first time since June over the weekend.
That’s great, right? Selling masks to people in the middle of a global pandemic. What a thing to do! Great job, Adidas. The only thing that could ruin this is…wait…no…what…? Are we really making people wait in virtual lines for masks?
We’re really making people wait in virtual lines for masks. The hype, man.
Shouts to everyone who copped. I guess that head nod from the stranger walking down the street definitely about to hit different?
Idk, man. I hate it here.
Bring good sneaker commercials back in 2021
After 2020, I have not a single expectation for 2021. But there is one thing I will request — good sneaker commercials.
It’s been too long since we’ve gotten one. Where are the Bron puppets? Where are the new Kobe systems? Give us something, y’all. The homie Chris Herring reminded me of the better days with this trippy ass Converse React Juice commercial featuring none other than Larry Johnson aka “Grandmama.”
This was a commercial for a shoe with actual liquid in it. Think about that, fam. That’s incredible. The 90’s were, indeed, wild as hell.
WE NEED MORE.
What’s droppin, bruh?
This week’s drops are filled with goodies so I’m giving y’all more than 5. Love you.
Nike Air Max 90 (Or the 3, I guess) Infrared — Monday, November 9
Nike Dunk Low “Veneer” — Tuesday, November 10
Nike Dunk Low “Elephant Print” — Wednesday, November 11
Moma x Vans collection — Wednesday, November 11
BBC x Reebok Question Low “Running Dog” — Thursday, November 12
Air Jordan 5 “What The” — Thursday, November 12
Sacai x Nike Vaporwaffle — Friday, November 13
Air Jordan 1 x Co.JP Midnight Navy — Saturday, November 14
SHEEEESH.
Thank y’all so much for rocking with me today! Y’all are the very best, yo. Your time is priceless to me and I appreciate it.
The giveaway is still coming, folks! We’re almost there — just a few more subs until we hit 2,000. Then we lit. SOON.
As always, peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯