The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 201 — An opportunity missed

Talking about what comes next for Kerby Jean-Raymond after Reebok

Feb 04, 2022

Good morning, family! Thank you for coming back to the Kicks You Wear. I appreciate you for giving me a few minutes of your time today.

Happy Black History Month! Here’s a quick explainer from Kirby — the R&B singer, not the little pink blob — on why we celebrate Black history in February and how we got here. Well worth your time today.

Let’s dive in. We finna get Black as hell today.

We’ll see what happens next, OKAY?!?

I was very excited to see what 2022 looked like for Kerby Jean-Raymond as the creative director of Reebok. They had a few projects last year but, relatively speaking, it was quiet. I was excited to see what he’d cook up.

I’ve got my answer: Turns out it’s absolutely nothing. Raymond is jumping ship as the brand transitions from Adidas to Authentic Brands Group, per Footwear News.

If you recall, ABG purchased Reebok from Adidas in August for $2.5 billion.
ABG’s takeover is set to become official sometime in Q1 of this year, which is now. So the transition is likely underway.
Kerby is dropping his last Reebok by Pyer Moss collection in March. After that, he’s out.

Safe to say that wasn’t a very long or fruitful partnership at all. Moss announced he was coming on as Reebok’s creative director in October of 2020. It hasn’t been two years and he’s already done.

Let’s be real though: We probably should’ve seen this coming. As soon as we got news of Reebok’s sale to ABG, it was a wrap. Kerby’s history runs counter to everything Reebok’s new ownership group wants.

Authentic Brands Group is basically the repo man in the retail world. They buy up old, failing brands with big names and squeeze profit out of them through licensing the hell out of them. It’s a mass production strategy.
Pyer Moss is exclusive. Pyer Moss is limited. Pyer Moss is luxury. Everything Kerby has created has been created with that in mind.
Though that strategy may build you hype and bring eyes to the rest of your brand, it certainly isn’t the most profitable thing in the world.

So when you think about it in that way, yeah, it totally makes sense why Jean-Raymond is out on Reebok.

So what’s next?: Jean-Raymond’s peers have been lighting it up in Europe engaging in partnerships with different fashion houses. Virgil Abloh went with Louis Vuitton, for example. Rhuigi went with Bally. Plenty more where that came from.

It’d make perfect sense for Kerby to link up with a fashion house himself. He can still continue to build out his Pyer Moss empire and even double back and work with a sneaker brand on a collab or two if he wants.

As my guy Brandon Martinez over at SNKRHUD pointed out, Raymond was also in Season 5 of Insecure. So maybe Hollywood is in his future. Who knows?

The big picture: That’s the type of freedom he has in the position he’s in now. He’s not tied to any one route and that’s the beauty in it.

We’ll have to wait and see what his next move is but, rest assured, we’re all on the edge of our seats waiting to see it.

The Black Footwear Forum just got even bigger

Always remember sneaker culture is Black culture. So the more Black voices that show up in this industry, the better. When you get a number of those names and voices together, you know it’s a pretty great thing.

That’s what the Black Footwear Forum is.

It’s an event hosted annually by Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design where Black professionals from the footwear industry gather to talk about diversity issues.
It’s run by President Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, who began Pensole in 2010.

What’s happening: The Forum just put together an advisory committee with big names from sectors around the footwear industry ranging from retailers to agencies to other institutions, per Footwear News.

Some of those names you’ve seen in KYW including True To Size Agency founder Jazerai Allen-Lord, Nike’s Kris Wright, and Edwards himself.

This is a big deal: Diversity is still a huge issue that looms large over the sneaker industry. There’s still an alarming lack of diversity at the executive levels of many sneaker companies and in their boardrooms. That’s not even diving into the transparency issues we sometimes run into when questions are asked about hiring.

This board and this forum go a long way in identifying those issues and finding the right ways to attack them. And that’s a very exciting thing for the industry at large.

Can’t wait to see the work they do in 2022.

How to market 101 with JoeFreshGoods

JoeFreshGoods is an absolute master at keeping the people on edge. I hate it. I swear I hate it.

JFG is teasing us with all these hints about his next drop.

First we got the images of the box on Instagram. OK. Cool. Looks good.
After that he teased us with an April drop date by tweeting this video of Kobe Bryant. This, of course, is JFG’s 3rd New Balance drop.

He wasn’t done, though. Mans came back this week with a tweet that said nothing but 550.

JFG @JoeFreshgoods

550

So…there you have it, I guess? We’re getting a 550 from JFG, maybe? At least, that’s what it looks like, anyway.

But the beauty of this whole thing is that we still have no idea. Is it a 550? Probably. But there’s a chance it’s not! And JFG is leaving us to think about it until April — or, you know, til it inevitably leaks.

Til then, though, I’m going with the 550.

And this is why I can’t be a Dad

This is the most wholesome content I’ve seen in the internet in quite some time. Just a homie and his son out here getting fly for the camera.

They really brought it. Lil man has on the Free Lunch dunks, too? Man. These two are flatout. That’s DMV lingo for fresh. IYKYK.

Nice Kicks @nicekicks

Okay, maybe just one.. 😅👨‍👦 @_215shooter_

This is exactly why I’m not a dad. Just obscene amounts of money spent on me and the little one. Man. I’m too broke for that, y’all. Maybe one day.

#TheKicksWeWear

YOU KNOW THE VIBESSSSSS. LET’S GO.

First, the homie Tej got us popping with one of his 500 pairs of Air Max 90’s. Can’t say I blame him. Classic shoe.

Tej Sahota @boatical

@MikeDSykes ohhh boy have i been excited for this today because had to run some errands and could change out of the work shoes! air max 90s remix pack. for me it’s the laces that throw these joints over the top. some of my favs

Then Jess popped out with the Sun Devil (but also Washington Commanders?) colorway of the Adidas Forum.

jess george @iamjessfrancine

@MikeDSykes go commies?

My guy JR came through with the Polka Dot Air Max 1’s and these are CRAZY.

jonathan roy @JRLiveNow

@MikeDSykes AM1 all day. Polka Dot pack.

The homie Karli popped out with the Gore-Tex AJ1 and I’m practically begging y’all to stop sending these joints. My wallet cannot take any more stress.