The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 207 — Black is beautiful with Joe FreshGoods
JFG x New Balance get it right every time
Good morning, folks. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time this morning.
I want to start off by sending love out to the folks in Ukraine. I was going to hold the newsletter today but then, I thought about it. And I figured maybe I can make someone’s day a bit brighter with this stuff.
So here it goes. Let’s dig in.
Joe FreshGoods and New Balance’s celebration of Blackness
Often times when sneaker brands try and honor cultural experiences in some way, they miss the mark because they miss the details.
For example, brands tend to overuse Kente cloth patterns as if Black Americans don’t have a history outside of Africa worth celebrating. You’ve seen it.
There can also be whiffs in the details, too, like getting the Puerto Rican flag wrong on a highly anticipated shoe.
But JoeFreshGoods gets it right every single time with New Balance. He celebrates what it means to be part of the Black experience in America in such a subtle, yet incredibly detailed, way.
He did it with No Emotions Are Emotions. He did it with Outside Clothes. And now, he’ll direct New Balance's new campaign “Conversations Amongst Us” to do it again.
The details:
JFG teamed up with the Black Soles — a group of Black employees and designers at New Balance — to launch this campaign as the creative director.
The theme of “Conversations Amongst Us” is about the conversations that Black folks have with each other that no one else in the world would get. It shines a light on that communication and how essential it is for us.
It goes beyond the “Inside Voices” 9060 coming out. JFG told High Snobiety the two projects are actually separate.
Here’s a quick synopsis of it.
"Conversations Amongst Us" is about conversations, whether it's thoughtful conversations, barbershop conversations, hair shop conversations, or on the phone gossiping. The biggest goal is to make sure I uplift my culture and bring on different stories that I've never seen before. We make all this shit cool, so I have to touch on these stories that can uplift everybody.”
Why this is great: To be Black in America is to share an experience with your peers. You experience the same ups and downs. The highs and lows. The language. The culture. It’s different, but there’s a sameness to it that is understood. That’s what it feels like JFG is getting at here.
Identifying that as a thing is cool. But creating a story surrounding it is awesome. Anytime storytelling is a part of a sneaker, I’ll always be a fan. But this carries a real for us, by us vibe.
Between the lines: It’s wild to see New Balance diving deep into Black communities and Black stories like this. But it’s appreciated.
JFG has shifted the paradigm quite a bit for the company by telling these stories.
There's also a very clear willingness from NB to embrace these stories, too, which is great.
It looks like we’ll get a lot more of this this year, too. That’s exciting.
Now, if we could get a better drop strategy this would be perfect. But, hey. Baby steps.
That V6 is on the way
It’s been about 10 months since Aimé Leon Dore founder Teddy Santis was named the creative director of New Balance’s MADE in USA division and it’s been pretty quiet.
He’s finally talking now though. We got word from Santis via a recent interview with The Business of Fashion and he dove into a multitude of things from ALD to New Balance to artificial scarcity with NB product and then some. It’s an excellent interview if you have time (and a subscription).
What left me most excited, though, was the MADE in USA collection it looks like we’re finally getting from Santis.
The collection will likely be limited, like most of NB’s MADE stuff. “We’re not trying to have this very scarce product and we’re also not trying to flood the market,” he told TBF.
He also mentioned the collection would be coming later this spring, which is huge.
That’s a big deal. Mostly because it could be the moment that ushers in the next wave of New Balance’s flagship 990 line.
The 990 series has been its bread and butter for decades now starting with the 990 v1 in 1982.
A look back: Santis previewed the v6 last summer on Instagram. It was the only new product he’s teased so far. Here’s a quick look.
Spring is coming, Dad Shoe Lovers. Rejoice.
I would pay obscene amounts of money for these
We’re only a few days away from Air Max month and the 35th anniversary of the Air Max 1 is coming up. I could not be more excited about it. Why? Because these beauties are coming.
What’s happening: We don’t have an official release date on the CNCPTS x Nike Air Max 1’s yet, but we do have official images. And, my goodness, this is almost certainly going to go down as one of the best Air Max 1’s to drop in recent years.
This shoe is so good, man. I love them. Let me explain why very quickly.
My thoughts:
Without even knowing the story that comes with these, the color palette they come with already intrigues you.
Not only are the colors insane, but the materials are rich. You’ve got what looks like cowprint, denim, paisely on the heel, velvet on the tongue. It’s just a wild combination with something for everyone to love.
It’s also CNCPTS. And CNCPTS hasn’t let me down with a collab yet.
If I can’t get these on the initial drop the resellers might just got me, man. Because I have to have these in my collection. Luckily, it seems there are multiple variations for me to attempt to grab.
Either way, amazing shoe. Air Max month is going to be fun.
Oh, nothing to see here. Just some kids mistaking Shaq for Michael Jordan
This is the best thing I’ve seen on the internet so far this week by far. It’s hilarious. I’ve watched this video at least 20 times now.
Shaq handing out pizzas is already hilarious. But him being mistaking for MJ absolutely takes the cake.
I also suddenly feel old as hell now. Wait…wait a minute! This is not the effect this was supposed to have.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE MF VIBES RIGHT NOW. LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!
First the homie Seery got us popping with these icy 550s.
You know the homie Hardly Clerkin popped out. This time in these icy Js.
The homie Honcho came through with these Bron 7s. Man. We need more of these.
Storm came through with the Nothing but Net AJ1 lows. These are amazing.
The homie Diamond came through with these AMAZING Foams. Love to see it.
Then Candace popped out from PE in the Marina Blues. Sheeeeesh.
My guy Cesar came through with the J Balvin AJ1s and MAN these things are beautiful.
The homie Rick Dubb came through with the Grinches to kick off the Kobe love on 2/24.
Freddy followed up with these amazing Kobe 9s.
Then the homie Loe came through with the Bruce Lee 11s for his KYW debut 🙏🏾.
Then the homie Nate sent us home with the Cloak 7s and DOG these are TORCH.
SMOKED IT. Rest in peace, Kob.
Thank you so much for rocking with me for a few minutes today. I really, really appreciate it. Remember, it’s giveaway season! We’re on the road to 5,000 subs and when we get there, somebody is getting some free kicks! Hope it’s you!
Let’s chat again on Monday, family. Til next time. Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes. 💯
Top drawer stuff today man. Particularly the JFG insight. 🙏