The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 202 — The fun is over between Nike and StockX
It was all fun and games until NFT's came into the picture
Good morning, family! Happy Monday! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with your boy today. I appreciate you!
Hope you all had an awesome weekend and I hope you have an even better week. Me? I spent my time contemplating whether I should be buying my second pair of New Balance in as many weeks. I feel like y’all know the answer already.
Alright, let’s rock.
Nike said “cut it out, stink”
Welp. For those of y’all who thought Nike and StockX were in bed together in any sort of way, you can cut those fantasies now.
What’s happening: Nike is suing StockX for trademark infringement and dilution in connection to the platform’s NFT’s, per Reuters.
Nike claims that StockX’s use of both physical Nike goods as well as images of them in their “Vault” NFTs are confusing consumers.
The details: Nike doesn’t hold back at all in the complaint. They do everything they can to prove their claims and destroy the validity of this NFT program.
They call to question the value of the program, pointing out that the physical version of the Panda Dunk sells for an average of $282 on the platform while the NFT version sells for $809.
They call out the terms of service saying they’re “murky” and that StockX can redeem the virtual tokens at any time without the user’s consent.
They also say consumers have already alleged StockX’s Vault NFTs are “a scam” and they even use literal tweets to show evidence of this.
They’re demanding StockX cease selling and promoting Vault NFT’s with Nike trademarks in them and are also demanding they be destroyed.
Be smart: That’s a pretty thorough takedown which is pretty surprising since Nike has typically had a laissez-faire attitude when it comes to StockX.
But it also makes plenty of sense because Nike has a stake in the metaverse now. StockX is a competitor here. This isn’t normal the territory between these two.
StockX normally dictates the aftermarket on most Nike products and you don’t hear a peep from the swoosh. That’s because it doesn’t interfere with Nike’s business strategy. If anything, it actually helps it in hyping their products up.
This NFT program is different in this instance. Nike and StockX are competitors in the same virtual space. Nike has virtual product out and lots more coming. That’s why they’re not letting this rock.
It’s totally true that people have already rightfully raised questions about the validity of StockX’s product and whether Nike was associated at all. But people have always had those questions — even before the metaverse was a discussion. This is Nike officially putting those rumors to bed because it impacts their bottom line.
What’s next: StockX will obviously defend itself. There’s a fair use argument there that might make things a little tricky, per The Fashion Law.
Fair use immediately comes to mind. Given that the NFTs at play are “associated with [physical] Nike products” that StockX says that it has in its “vault” ( hence, the “Vault NFTs” name), the marketplace may attempt to claim that it is merely using Nike’s marks to refer to the actual Nike products, and not to indicate the source of the NFTs, themselves, thereby, removing the necessary infringement element of use as a trademark.
So, yeah. This one is going to get interesting. Buckle up, folks. It’s going to be a wild ride.
All aboard the WNBA bandwagon
The WNBA has been a rocket ready to shoot to the moon for quite some time. It’s only been waiting for the public to jump on board.
Now they have and it’s officially time for blast off.
What’s happening: The WNBA announced it received a capital raise of $75 million from a number of contributors last week. That list includes:
A few of former WNBA and NBA players in Swin Cash, Baron Davis and Pau Gasol.
A bunch of sports owners including Mickey Arison (Miami Heat), Joe and Clara Tsai (Liberty and Nets) and Ted Leonsis (Wizards and Mystics).
And, of course, a number of corporate entities including Nike — there’s the sneaker connection you were waiting for.
The league intends to use this money for “brand elevation and marketing” and “the globalization of the WNBA,” according to a press release from the league. Basically, they want to figure out how to market the league on a wider scale to a more broad audience.
There’s already a solid foundation to work with.
The W’s viewership jumped by 49% last year, per The Athletic. And every time there’s a limited WNBA collection drop, like Jasmine Baker’s collab with the Atlanta Dream, it sells out quickly.
I’m really excited to see what can come from this. We’ll see players like A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage and Brittney Griner on bigger stages with more opportunities because of it.
That means more brand collabs. That means more signature sneakers. That means better travel. And, more importantly, it means higher pay which is the conversation Cambage brought up last week.
You absolutely love to see it.
Speaking of Nike and the WNBA….
Exciting news! Nike is dropping a new Lisa Leslie Dunk in the LA Sparks colorway with her number 9 on the heel.
The shoe shines light on her becoming the first WNBA player to dunk in a game 20 years ago. And this joint looks awesome. It feels like a joint I would’ve customized on Nike iD so many years ago.
It is fantastic to see Nike paying homage to a WNBA legend in this way. It feels intentional and that’s important.
People have asked for more storytelling when it comes to the WNBA’s history as well as the history of its legends. Here it is right here.
This is Lisa Leslie’s Dunk and that is awesome. Hopefully, Nike has a lot more of this coming.
Oh, and if they want to do some more good? They should really find a way to let women cop these. Something beyond sizing.
No idea what that looks like but it needs to happen.
You know…those Union Dunks? They might not be so bad
Alright, y’all. Please don’t clown me. Y’all know I don’t normally switch up on sneakers. When I don’t like something, I don’t like it hard. Very rarely does my mind change.
But these Union LA Dunks? Man, my mind is starting to change. The more on-foot pictures I see, they start to look a little better. The video that came with them was nice, too. But neither of those really started to turn me.
What did, however, was the news that the grid mesh on the upper that I hate so much actually peels away.
That right there, y’all? That’s a game-changer. Now, will I get it? Probably not. But I’m at least considering it now. Because underneath that colorway looks pretty fly.
What’s droppin, bruh?
Bad Bunny x Adidas Powerphase “Benito” — Wednesday, February 9
Ivy Park x Adidas Savage V4 “Ivy Heart” — Wednesday, February 9
ACRONYM x Nike Blazer Low — Thursday, February 10
UNION LA x Nike Dunk Low “Passport Pack” — Friday, February 11
Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance 993 — Friday, February 11
Thank you so much for rocking with me today, fam! Y’all are the best. We’ll chat again on Wednesday.
Til next time, family. Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
Every piece of news about NFTs reinforces my skepticism of them as any sort of legitimate product or collectible and convinces me that ultimately they’ll only be used to launder money (just like crypto)