Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for chilling with the homie this morning. Y’all know I love y’all, right?
Shouts to everyone who copped a PS5 on Thursday. You know who I’m not shouting out? Target, because my preorder still ain’t here. Yes, I am salty. Anyway, congrats tho.
Alrighty, fam. Let’s jump in.
Stop worrying about Supreme
(Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash)
So by now, I’m sure you’ve all seen the news. If you haven’t, let me hip you real quick: Supreme cashed in. On Monday VF Corp purchased the iconic streetwear brand for a whopping $2.1 billion from the Carlyle group, per Bloomberg’s Jordyn Holman.
That’s a lot of damn money, y’all. They’re making a big bet on streetwear. CEO Steve Rendle told investors they’re excited about the category’s future, per Forbes.
“[W]e estimate that the streewear market is a $50 billion global opportunity, driven by trends such as casualization, social influence and self-expression. Supreme sits at the epicenter as the original category leader.”
This is smart. Think of this as one massive collab. Supreme is a leader in a burgeoning streetwear industry and they’ve mastered the art of the collab. Whatever they touch not only sells out quickly, but also hits on the secondary market. VF Corp can use that golden Supreme touch on their plethora of brands. They’ve already started with Timberland and there’s plenty more to come.
When you consider Supreme’s recent growth, this becomes a no-brainer for VF.
In January of 2017, the company hit a revenue mark of about $200 million. That’s projected to jump to $500 million in January of 2021.
VF believes the company can hit a $1 billion revenue mark if they sustain an 8% to 10% growth rate over time, per Complex’s Brendan Dunne.
Despite that, all everyone is talking about is how corporatized Surpeme is probably about to be. Which, duh. Of course.
This is a massive investment by one of the biggest corporations in retail. Of course it changes things. The good news for OG Supreme fans VF seems to believe in its current strategy and management. But at the same time, we know they’re going to want to break even. And that might mean producing more.
Supreme was built on exclusivity and cool. Producing more, as a strategy, would run counter to its company ethos. But guess what? It’s a multi-billion dollar corporation now. And multi-billion dollar corporations don’t give a damn about cool unless it makes money.
This is the natural progression of capitalism that made Supreme into what it is. It starts small, grows and eventually is flipped for a profit. From there, it either repeats that cycle or it folds and loses value. It’s literally the most Supreme thing ever.
Supreme as we know it might die. It might not hold the same weight it used to. It might only be for those 14 year old rich kids whose main inspiration in the sneaker game is Benjamin Kickz.
But guess what? That’s fine! It’s whatever. This ain’t our Supreme anymore and it hasn’t been for a while. The homie Jonas put it perfectly.
We will, indeed, be fine.
Kuz Control
(Photo by Leah Huyghe on Unsplash)
One thing we know for sure about Puma, they are not afraid to experiment. They’re always looking to break the mold. Doesn’t always work, but hey, they try.
They’re trying again with Kyle Kuzma. Earlier this week, they unveiled the Clyde All-Pro Kuzma Mid. This is Kyle Kuzma’s signature shoe, except it really isn’t.
It’s not a basketball shoe. It’s not a signature model at all. Instead, it’s a lifestyle piece Kuzma designed for Puma alongside Rhuigi Villaseñor, the creator of the luxury streetwear brand Rhude.
Here’s a look.
This thing looks…interesting. Personally, I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either. But that’s honestly besides the point.
This is the crossover between sport and streetwear that we’ve been talking about for years now. Signature basketball shoes aren’t good and there’s a lack of interest surrounding performance footwear as a whole. So what’s the point of having signature athletes, then?
Puma just showed us. They figured it out. They’ve given the “signature athlete” another purpose. Athletes aren’t just athletes anymore — they’re models. They can design. Let them.
This breaks the mold in a couple of ways.
This is a moment where an athlete worked with an actual high profile designer to craft a shoe outside of their sport. I don’t know if we’ve seen that before. LeBron x John Elliot may come close, but Kuz had a hand in this from what we know. Bron didn’t design that.
Kuzma also just skyrockets his own value with this outside of sports. He’s very clearly interested in design. This is the beginning of that for him and not many athletes get this kind of opportunity.
We should see more of this. It’s smart. From a brand perspective, it gives the endorsee another function if they’re open to it. If you’re a player, and you talk about wanting ultimate creative control, do you get more control than this anywhere? That’s doubtful. Especially if you’re not a star among stars. Other players are going to see that and they’re going to want a piece of it.
Shouts to Puma for opening this door. It’s about time someone did it.
The Space Jam of the future
Introducing the Air Jordan 11 Adapt. That is wild just typing out. This isn’t just an auto-lacing Jordan — it’s the 11. We knew Adapt tech had to hit Jordan Brand at some point, but not like this.
This looks sick.
I’m so torn on these.
On one hand, this looks amazing. I cannot stress enough how clean it looks.
On the other hand, as good as it looks, this feels mad unnecessary. Like, this is a classic shoe. I don’t really know if I want Adapt in my AJ11.
But it’s here either way. We don’t have a retail price yet, but this is clearly going to get above $500-$600. And resale? Good Lord, don’t even think about it.
Spidey is back…in Adidas?
Miles Morales is back — this time in video game form on the PS5’s newest Spiderman game. He’s not wearing those same J’s from the movies though.
This time, he’s in…Superstars? Alrighty, then.
Man. No idea who decided this — I guess Adidas came with a bag. But this just doesn’t feel right without those Spidey J’s. Maybe it grows on me. Maybe it doesn’t. But those 1’s? They were perfect.
Either way, my PS5 needs to get here so I can finally play this damn game.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBRATIONS. LET’S GET IT POPPIN.
First, the homie Phil kicked us off with these dope Wildhorse trail runners.
Then the homie Quinton came through with more Space Hippie goodness.
Then our homies Danny and Greer came through with the heat courtesy of the AJ1 mid.
The homie Storm came through in the N7 Kyries.
The homie Charles popped out in the Fire Red AJ4. These are too good yo.
The homie Drew pulled his out, too, along with his walking boot. Wishing you a speedy recovery, family!
The homie Sean came through with the Dia De Los Muertos Blazers and these joints are CLEAN.
My dog Adrian came through in these incredible Ultra Boosts.
Then my fiancé (WOOOOO) came through in the Super Sleek Ivy Park joints. She got good taste, y’all.
The homie Jalen popped out in the Red Suede 21’s. FIRE.
My guy Barrett killed it with the Ugly Christmas Sweaters. Goodness.
Then Kendrew took us home with the Girls EYBL Kobe 5’s. Nah, I’m jealous dog.
Issa wrap for Friday! Thank you again, family, for rocking with your boy today! It’s been an absolute blast, as always. Y’all are the very best.
Remember, tell your folks to subscribe! 2,000 is RIGHT THERE. I swear it. Giveaway and more, coming soon.
As always, peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯