The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 149 — The new face of Puma is a woman
Breanna Stewart is the new face of Puma basketball
What up, family! The Kicks You Wear is back! Thank y’all so much for rocking with the boy. I appreciate your time!
We’re still well on the way to 3k! Let your folks know giveaway szn is upon us. If they subscribe they might win a free pair of shoes!
Let’s do it.
Hear her roar
(Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash)
Just sit on that for a second. Let it simmer. Puma’s biggest and brightest athlete is a woman.
Breanna Stewart is Puma’s newest signature athlete. A signature shoe is part of her deal. She’ll be the only athlete on Puma’s current roster with a signature shoe. That’s history in the making.
She announced the deal on Twitter.
This is a huge deal. She had some poignant words extremely fitting for this moment.
“Anytime you hear signature, I think that’s jaw-dropping. Eye opening. There haven’t been many — especially on the women’s side.”
That right there is exactly why this matters. There just haven’t been many signature athletes in women’s sports — period. Stewart is the 10th. And she only had to have one of the greatest basketball resumes in the history of the game at 26 years old to get it.
Here’s some context for that.
Stewart will be the first female signature athlete since Candace Parker, who last dropped the TS Ace Commander with Adidas in 2010.
In the meantime on the NBA side, there’ve been dozens. There have obviously been deserving names. And then there’s Matthew Dellevadova, Rajon Rondo, Gordon Hayward. The list goes on.
Some would call this a risk for Puma. They’d say that, traditionally, women’s sports do not sell. And, because of that, their signature models haven’t sold well. And that’s true.
Obviously, there are other factors included in that like the lack of media coverage and the overwhelming levels of misogyny from the public.
But this isn’t a risk. It’s an investment. Puma is not only betting on Stewart — they’re also betting on the growth of women’s sports and the WNBA in particular.
The spotlight on the league as it enters its 25th anniversary has never been brighter. Ratings are up, there’s an overwhelming amount of talent in the league and audiences are talking about it more than ever.
Stewart is the best player on the best team in the league. All eyes will be on her. Puma knows that and that’s why she’s getting this shine. Honestly, it’s brilliant. And the brand just continues to zig when everyone else zags.
It’s worked out everywhere else so far. I expect it to work here, too. And when it does, everyone else will follow suit.
And that’s what we call a win for the culture.
Two sides of the hype
(Photo by Verena Yunita Yapi on Unsplash)
Hype really works in mysterious ways. It’s built upon our FOMO and that FOMO is amplified by social media. Next thing you know, you’re buying J’s designed to look like knockoffs.
And don’t get me wrong. The AJ1 KO’s are good. But it’s not a $140 shoe. And I’m definitely not willing to take a SNKRS L on it. But so many people were.
On the flip side, you’ve got a certified classic in the Flint 7’s still carting on Footsites.
This is the game. Sneakers are wild in 2021. We’re pushed toward specific models and designs. If everyone wants them, then you have to want them as well. Conversely, if everyone wanted the shoe before but moves on from it a few years later then it’s a brick. It sits and collects dust. Until Travis Scott throws a pair on, anyway.
People just want what they can’t have. And if they can have it? They don’t want it. These are the rules of engagement, folks. Navigate that how you see fit.
Me? I’m finna buy all types of bricks.
The skinny on sneakers as literal assets
We’ve seen the value of deadstock kicks on the secondary market as a singular tradeable item. But what about fractional investment? That’s a thing now, too.
Spots like Rally, Rares, and Otis where you can literally invest in shares of collectibles. The homie Dylan Dittrich took a deep dive into the fractional sneaker market.
The takeaways.
Fervent sneakerheads don’t seem to be that interested in the fractional sneaker market. They’d rather own the pair of shoes outright.
And even further, investing in a collection of sneakers (Virgil’s THE TEN, for example) isn’t as valuable as owning each sneaker from the collection.
It’s fascinating to me that people would want to fractionally invest in something like a collection of sneakers but even more fascinating to me that there doesn’t seem to be as much value in that as there is in owning the shoe outright.
This just goes to show us how much power and value truly lies in the hands of the collector. And, well, it’s a lot.
MCLOVIN
These McLovin Jordan 35’s from Blake Griffin are incredible and I need them. Please.
Idc if that’s Blake Griffin’s face. I will wear those into oblivion.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBES. WE BYKE.
First the homie Storm popped out in the Lilac LeBron 18’s. WOW this color.
My guy Yosh popped out in the AJ1 Centre Courts and these joints just so clean.
My guy Jon popped out in the CLOT Air Max 1’s and I’ll never get tired of seeing these.
My guy Daniel popped in for the first time STUNTING in these 998’s. SHEESH.
I can’t wait to see the homie Sam actually rock these things. I ain’t think the Court Purples could look any better but here I stand corrected.
WHEW these Cork AM 95’s from the homie Wack are SO good y’all. I need the 90’s.
The homie Ace popped out in these FOG Converse and, lemme just say, I cannot wait for Jerry’s Adidas stuff to pop off. These are HEAT.
The homie Mags was outside in the Califa Zoom CMFT AJ1’s and these are NOICE.
My dog Trey popped out in the Bone 700’s on the go. Love to see it.
The homie Will came through STUNTING in the Stussy Huaraches. My word.
The homie Chim popped out for dinner in the Parra Air Max 1’s and MAN what a way to get back out in these streets.
Then the homie Greer sent us PACKING with the Diana Taurasi Nike Shox. Happy 25th, WNBA.
WHEW. SMOKED IT.
Thank y’all so much for rocking with your boy today, once again! Appreciate you. There’s an episode of Special Delivery coming today at noon! Don’t miss it.
Have an awesome weekend. Peace. Love. Be easy. Be kind.
-Sykes 💯