The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 114 — March Madness in December...sort of
Introducing KYW's Sneaker of the Year bracket
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear! Thank you so much for rocking with me on this amazing Monday morning.
Some news! Our giveaway is done, but both of our winners chose to pass on their gift to another lucky subscriber. So, this Wednesday, once again, we’ll be drawing once again! Can’t wait. Y’all are getting KYW merch and shoes in the same week. Isn’t it lovely?
Alright, let’s have some fun now.
And the Sneaker of the Year goes too…
(Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash)
It’s that time of year again, folks. Somehow, we’ve made it to the end of 2020 which is a thing worth celebrating in itself. That means it’s also time for us to pick a sneaker of the year.
We’re going to do it differently this year, though. I’m not just picking this year — y’all are, too. Presenting to you our first ever KYW Sneaker of the Year Bracket.
For the next four weeks, before we head into our holiday break, we’re going to choose between the 32 best drops of the year.
Here’s how things will work:
This Google Form I created has every single matchup from our bracket in it. You’ll be able to vote on each matchup there.
Voting will remain open from Monday when the newsletter drops to Sunday night each week except for on our championship weekend. The finalists will be determined on Friday, December 18th and we’ll pick a champion on Monday, December 21.
As each week goes by, the bracket will be updated with the winners from each matchup on Monday morning when the newsletter goes out.
Everything from the Kobe Protro 5 Mamba Week drops (the No. 1 overall seed) to the Bad Bunny Crocs (No. 32 overall seed) is on the table.
We’ll help each other out along the way. As we vote, I’ll leave a few takeaways that I have on how we voted and what stood out to me. How you choose to vote is up to you, but here’s what I’m considering with these matchups in case you need a bit of help.
First thing’s first: Style. Y’all know me. If I don’t think it’s fly, I can’t wear it. And that’s what matters most to me when it comes to kicks. There’s a lot on that list that I don’t think is fly, but I couldn’t exclude it because…
Second thing: Impact. I’ll never forget watching video of people trading their shoes off their feet in the cold Chicago streets for a pair of Yeezy QNTMs or how wild people went over Beyoncé’s Ivy Park drops. Remember when Mamba Week broke the internet? That stuff matters.
Last thing: The long tail. Will this shoe last beyond 2020? How does it impact footwear’s future? Things like the Space Hippie come to mind when I think of this. That also matters a ton — maybe the most.
The champion we choose will be KYW’s Sneaker of the Year in our sneaker “Best of Everything” on December 21. Every vote counts. Make sure you get yours in.
Transparency is key
(Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash)
Look, just about everyone has a holiday sale right now. Every retailer out there — in the footwear industry or otherwise — wants your attention and your dollars. They’ll do anything to get it.
Including giving you the okie doke. That’s what Adidas seemed to do with a Black Friday Creator’s club promotion over the weekend.
In an effort to drive sign ups for their creator’s club, they offered unlimited free shipping and early access to Black Friday sales if they did.
What they didn’t tell users, though, is that while shipping would be unlimited, they’d still be hit with a $2 “seasonal surcharge fee” that would come with whatever they purchased.
Obviously, people weren’t happy. That’s a problem. A small one, yes. But it is still a problem.
This is a relatively new fee from Adidas — it’s in their terms and conditions that were last updated on October 22. They’ve been hitting people with it for at least the last month or so.
Look, it’s only $2. So it doesn’t really make or break a purchase. And in the middle of a pandemic, no one should really mind paying an extra $2 so long as it goes to the workers who are putting themselves at risk creating and delivering these products.
But that’s the thing. We have no idea what this money goes to or what it’s for.
One assumes that it is a product of the busy holiday season in the middle of a pandemic when online shopping is at an all-time high, but we have no idea.
We don’t know what Adidas does with this extra $2 or where it goes. All we know is that it’s now randomly included in our purchases. And that’s irritating.
That’s where Adidas went wrong. They weren’t upfront and open with it. Instead, they snuck it into section 10 of their updated terms and conditions. And now, some folks are pissed.
Transparency, y’all. It makes everything better. Adidas could’ve used a bit of that here.
We have a date with Nike x Drake
We knew Certified Lover Boy Merch was coming, but we didn’t know when the official drop would be.
We do now. December 18.
If the initial quick drop in October was any indication of how this will go, this stuff will sell out fairly quickly. That’s probably why they moved the launch date up from early 2021 to December.
This release should be more widely available, Complex reports, but we’ll see what that means. If it’s anything like the Travis Scott drops? Don’t expect this to be an easy cop
At this point, I’m just waiting for the sneaker to drop.
Nelly put those awful kicks to good use
Nelly was turning classic Jordan pairs into abominations by turning them into dance shoes on Dancing with the Stars. I absolutely hated every moment of it.
I mean, look at what he did to the Black Cements. THE BLACK CEMENTS, Y’ALL.
Ugh. Whatever, yo. It doesn’t even matter. I won’t hate on these anymore because he’s actually putting them, and his other pairs, to good use.
He’s donating his 10 pairs to The Teen Project — an organization dedicated to helping human trafficking victims. And that’s a pretty dope thing. He’s expected to raise $50,000 from them, per TMZ.
So salute to Nelly and those ugly ass kicks. Way to put them to good use.
What’s droppin, bruh
Air Max 1 “Evergreen” — Monday, Novemeber 30
New Balance 550 — Tuesday, December 1
Air Jordan 4 “Deep Ocean” — Saturday, December 5
Frame Skate x SB Dunk Low — Saturday, December 5
Yeezy 350 V2 “Bred” — Saturday, December 5
That’s a wrap for your boy! Don’t forget to vote this week! Really excited to see what we come up with, y’all. This is going to be dope.
Raffle winners coming (AGAIN) this week! And merch drops, too! Be on the lookout, family!
Until next time, folks! See you Wednesday. As always, peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯