The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 263 — The Dunk is still alive! 😂
Would ya look at that. One of my predictions already dead in the water!
Gooooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for coming through today. I appreciate you.
If you haven’t already but feel so inclined, make sure you drop your mailbag questions or comments here on this link! Really looking forward to doing another one of these things with y’all.
Let’s jump in.
The Dunk seems alive but we’ll see if it’s well
Welp. It looks like 2023 is already off to a riveting start for yerboi. One of the predictions I made earlier this week was that the Nike Dunk would start to teeter off.
Guess what? That’s not happening. The Swoosh is reportedly pumping more of these things out — particularly in the two-toned “True To Your School” college colorways that were released heavily in 2020, Complex reports.
Colorways will include a St. John’s red and white pair, another round of Pandas, and more.
These pairs are set to release in the Fall of 2023.
There’s more: Not only that but there’s also a new version of the Dunk coming called the “Twist,” which is a women’s specific style, per Complex’s Brendan Dunne, It essentially looks like a chunkier version of the Dunks we already currently have.
So, yeah. It’s safe to say that the Dunk is alive. But whether this all actually works out well for the silhouette is what we’ll find out.
People are already sick of Panda restocks. That’s essentially what this sounds like — a big restock of styles we’ve had before, but this time for $110 instead of $100.
With that jump in price it’s easy to see people getting annoyed with some of this.
To be clear: I never thought the Dunk was going away. It’s plainly obvious that it wasn’t. But what I want to see is how people react to these Dunks.
Will that same excitement still persist? Or will folks move on to the next thing? That’s the big question. Even in this period of hype for the Dunk that we’ve experienced so far, there have certainly been some duds that have landed.
Remember those Hi 85 Dunks? They’re pretty good. People never get excited about them though.
And I just know y’all remember how bad the Disrupts were. Maybe the Twist won’t suffer the same fate.
I’ll tell you what, though. Regardless of how it pans out, y’all can never say I don’t admit when I’m wrong.
Kyrie Irving might be coming back with a partner you didn’t think of
CORRECTION: This post incorrectly states Kyrie Irving would be SIA’s first basketball athlete. However, Montrezl Harrell debuted his own SIA sneaker in late 2021.
Kyrie Irving seems to be making moves to get back into the signature sneaker game.
The Nets’ point guard reportedly had preliminary conversations with the Somewhere In America Collective — also known as SIA. The discussions took place last week, according to Bally Sports’ Brandon Robinson.
For those of you who don’t know, SIA is a Black-owned brand owned by Devlin Carter. SIA doesn’t only design footwear — it also offers clothes, apparel and accessories.
The backdrop: It’s unclear how deep conversations went to this point, but Carter has apparently already designed a sample for Irving to test that he’s showing off on social media.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean anything was agreed upon. And we haven’t gotten word from Irving on any partnership either — he’s still wearing his taped-up Nikes.
My thoughts: You never want to say never with this stuff. But, the more I think about it, the less likely this feels like it could actually happen.
Devlin and the brand have primarily focused on lifestyle. Irving would represent SIA’s first foray into sports. That’s not just something you can whip together. It takes years of designing and testing to even present this stuff to the public.
Even if Carter’s process for development can be faster, these shoes still have to be wear-tested by Irving to see if they meet his standards for hooping. SIA is unproven in that regard and it doesn’t feel like Irving would jump on without the brand being able to prove itself first.
On the other hand: It’s Kyrie Irving. This dude is full of surprises. Truly, you never know with him. So, while a partnership here might feel farfetched, you can’t exactly dismiss it either.
These mystery boxes are scams and they need to stop
This is the worst trend in sneakers. I’m sure, by now, most of you have seen the videos of people copping “mystery boxes” at SneakerCon.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s exactly what it sounds like. You pay a fee — I’ve mostly seen $300 — for a box of goods while having no idea what’s in it.
The value of the goods in the box can be more. But it can also be less. Way less.
Here’s what that looks like:
The skinny: This kid — who doesn’t look like he’s more than 12 years old — paid $300 for a pair of Panda Dunks and some stickers. That shoe doesn’t retail for more than $110. Resale doesn’t float anywhere near $300. This isn’t right. It’s a scam and it needs to stop.
It’d be one thing if this was a consenting adult blowing cash on whatever. That’s fine — do what you want. But these are children being preyed upon.
It’s not just this one video, either. There are more out there online. It’s happening at every SneakerCon.
The other side: Folks will argue that there are good prizes won worth well over the $300 value and that’s fine and well. I’m glad someone was able to come up on some Travis Scott Jordan 1s or whatever.
But that’s not the point here. These are kids. And kids shouldn’t be able to gamble with their money. Period.
Enough of this.
Neo-vintage kicks are one thing. Dirty Air Force 1s are another.
Somebody needs to teach Matthew M. Williams the difference.
This is the creative director of Givenchy. He’s done work with Nike, Dior and Moncler — literally some of the biggest fashion brands in the world. And this is what he mustered up for an Air Force 1 collaboration with Nike? Hate 2 c it.
The man built the pre-teen TikTok Air Force 1s and thought it was fly. The point of the AF1 is to be clean. ICE. WHITE.
This shoe is always meant to be kept clean. Nelly didn’t have two pairs of AF1s for no reason, y’all.
And here Williams is ruining the sanctity of the AF1 for no good reason.
#TheKicksWeWear
WELCOME BACK FAM! THE KICKS WE WEAR, COMING AT YOU!
First, the homie Storm got us kicked off with this excellent selection of Jordan 1s.
The homie Buzz Thightyear kept the AJ1 love going with these Cowboy color joints. Good luck in the Offs, I guess. LOL.
My dog Yo Gabba popped out in these INCREDIBLE 2002rs. My boy stunting on us, y’all.
The homie Candace came through with the Crepe Air Max 1s and this picture is just fine IMO.
The homie Dellan came through in the Volt AJ1s. An absolute classic.
The homie Tommy Timberlake popped out in the Social Status Penny 2s to watch the kids hoop. That’s how you live life, man.
Then my dog Floyd sent us home with the LOBSTAHS. WHEW.
SMOKED THAT. 2023 ain’t ready for y’all type of fly, man. I swear.
Thanks so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you! Have a fantastic weekend.
Til next time, homies! Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
SIA made basketball shoes for Montrez Harrell and he wears them off and on in the NBA. They've been testing on court footwear for over a year now so they're farther along with basketball shoes than is known publicly. And while I don't think Kyrie will ultimately pick SIA, it might be his best option so he owns his own brand and can't get in trouble for his occasional weird outbursts.
Keep up the great work Mike. 2 thoughts - A.) those Mystery box’s are just IRL video game loot boxes. Hope those predators get annihilated like the video game industry did for the same practice. B.) totally agree on your points about the dirty AF1s from Matthew Williams, however this popped a question into my lizard brain - do you have any tips on how you clean your kicks?