Good morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear! Thank you so much for rocking with me on this fantastic Friday. Hope you had an awesome week!
Alright, let’s jump in.
Can Drake finally carry some sneaker hype?
(Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash)
Drake certainly didn’t have any trouble moving his album when the time came. Certified Lover Boy did crazy numbers last week.
We’ll see if his sneakers can do the same. While Drake has been with Nike since 2013 (and almost left in 2018 before Pusha T deaded that), he’s never quite had a main character moment at the Swoosh.
He’s mostly had a number of Jordan PE’s. They all sold out, but they also don’t really have the long-tail impact we’ve seen with other Nike sneakers from celebs like Travis Scott and Virgil Abloh.
Their secondary market rates have fluctuated over the years. I wrote about that last year here.
As big of a name as Drake has, he’s not quite the trendsetter in the fashion space. He fits more into that Beyoncé mold of stardom where they’ve got big names and whatever they make will sell out. But it might not always resonate in the same ways as some of their more fashion-forward counterparts.
But it feels like that’s starting to shift. His partnership with Nike is hitting another level, from their CLB marketing campaign together to the introduction of his NOCTA line.
He’s become a much more prominent figure in the sneaker space over the last year. And that’s all building up to a really important moment for him.
His first “signature” shoe is here. Drake’s Hot Step Air Terra is coming this fall.
Even with how critical people (including myself) have been about this shoe, it’s still going to sell out. It’s Drake. People are going to buy whatever he’s attached to.
But will it shift culture? Will it leave a lasting impact? Will people talk about this the way they talk about Travis’ J’s or Virgil’s drops? That’s what I want to see.
We’re going to find out really soon.
John Geiger vs. Nike is on
(Photo by Sandi Benedicta on Unsplash)
The legal battle between John Geiger and Nike over the GF-01 is officially on. Geiger lawyered up, Hypebeast reports.
He hired Kenneth Anand — the former general counsel for Kanye West over at Yeezy and the author of co-author of Sneaker Law. And immediately after the hire, Anand dropped a statement for his client.
In it they argued, again, the GF-01 was different from Nike in design, quality, price and positioning on the market.
There was also another more interesting tidbit toward the end that will be really important for their case.
“It is well known that the Air Force 1 has been a source of inspiration for many footwear brands. Nike cannot selectively enforce its trade dress against certain creators just because they think they will roll over and settle. At some point, this has to stop.”
That’s a very important distinction. Anand and Geiger are arguing there have been tons of AF1 copies and Nike hasn’t come down on them all — only a select few. And that’s totally true.
We’ve seen brands like BAPE, Yums, the Menthol 10’s and countless others come through with AF1 variations and no repercussions.
Part of that, particularly with BAPE, is that overseas copyright law is murky.
But the other part is that there was already a legal battle behind the Air Force 1 between Nike and Yums that Nike lost. The homie Kari aka Sneaker Phetish outlined it here in this excellent breakdown.
That seems likely to come into play here. Whether it’ll work or not remains to be seen. Buckle up, folks. We’re in for a wild ride.
Stop blaming TikTok for your AF1’s being gone
Speaking of the Air Force 1, I’ve seen so many people over the last few weeks being #MadOnline about the TikTok trend of wearing beat-up ice whites.
Perfect example right here.
And while I understand the frustration of, not only something as simple as Air Force 1’s being sold out, but also seeing good pairs of ice whites getting beat down like this, there’s some totally misplaced anger here.
First of all, these 14-year-olds are not the reason your Air Force 1’s are gone, bruv. Y’all don’t even wear the same size. Relax.
Second, at least they’re wearing their kicks! Is this trend corny? Yes. But they’re teenagers! Teenage years are made for being corny.
Third, it’s the botters. They know you want these and they know your size. They’re the ones poaching them — not these kids.
Let the kids have their fun, man. It’s alright to be that old person yelling at the cloud sometimes. But dirty Air Force 1’s are…pretty harmless. This isn’t who you need to be worried about.
A$AP Rocky’s Forum is…kinda cool?
I absolutely hate high fashion sneaker collabs and I always will. This tweet captures exactly why.
With that being said, this Prada x Adidas Forum joint A$AP Rocky has on here? These are pretty damn tight.
Am I hunting for these? Absolutely not. They finna be a billion dollars so I could never — even if I had the money. But I love the design touch of a pouch on these with a buckle. That’s pretty dope.
I don’t know if it’s the A$AP treatment or if it’s just the shoe, but I vibe with these. And that burger phone, really. Somebody help me find that.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBRATIONZZZZZ. LET’S GET IT!
First the homie Storm got it popping with these AMAZING Questions. What an unbelievable find.
The homie JB popped out in the Fire Red 5’s looking a sharp as ever.
My guy Pooh Trustworthy and his baby boy popped out with the HEATERS. Wotherspoons and Dunks.
The homie Devin had the BAPE TIMBS ON. Y’all. This is legendary.
My guy Izzy came through with the heat, per usual, with the A Ma Maniere 3’s.
The homie Chris popped out in these AMAZING Overbreaks. This shoe is slept on, man.
The homie Andy popped out in the Parra Dunks. So good, man. I wish I’d copped these.
Then the homie J Mike sent us packing with the Maui Wowie Dunks while on vacay. These joints are INCREDIBLE.
Y’ALL SMOKED THAT. Per usual.
Thank y’all so much for rocking with me, family! Appreciate you! Y’all are the absolute best.
Housekeeping note: After Monday’s newsletter, the Kicks You Wear will be out until Sept. 24. I’m attending our guy Sumeet’s wedding (!!!!) so I’ll be traveling.
Til Monday, fam. Be safe. Be easy. Be kind. Holla at you.
-Sykes 💯