The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 268 — Put a ring on it 💍
I don't get these Tiffany Air Force 1s, but I'm really not supposed to
Gooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you.
Hope you’re having a fantastic week over there on your end.
Let’s jump in.
I don’t get it, but that’s the point
Everybody has an opinion on the Tiffany & Co. Air Force 1 collaboration with Nike. These shoes are polarizing. Folks either think it’s overpriced and too bland or they see it as a luxury item priced properly. Maybe they fall somewhere in between.
But for me, it’s just strange. I can’t imagine it happening even just a decade ago simply because I can’t imagine Nike and Tiffany ever colliding as two brands. Yet, here we are. It’s happening. And I just don’t get it.
Here’s the thing: It’s just a Black Air Force 1 with a Tiffany Blue swoosh and some expensive ass accessories to go with it. It’s not my fibe, but it’s not supposed to be.
Tiffany & Co. is a luxury brand. It’s one that, again, has never really been connected to sneakers in any way, shape or form.
This is a luxury collab — not one for “the culture.” It’s high end status is obvious with the $400 price tag it comes with. There’s even a $250 toothbrush that isn’t even made for your teeth.
It’s important to keep that in mind when thinking and talking about this shoe. Everything has an audience. Sometimes you’re not apart of it. That’s most of us here. What we think doesn’t actually matter when it comes to this shoe.
On the other hand: That doesn’t make this something to be ignored. In fact, I think this sneaker points to a strange trendline we’re seeing in sneakers.
The corporatization of sneakers and sneaker culture continues to grow. It also continues to price people out. The luxury brands and companies that kept this culture at arms length for so long are now cozying up to this thing that our love thrusted into the mainstream.
The companies we’ve given that love to are letting them in, often without a second thought about the alienation of their main customers.
We’ve talked about this with the Louis Vuitton Air Force 1 previously, for example. They looked like something Dapper Dan would’ve made for D-Boys in the 80s. Now they’re being sold for thousands with no credit to him.
Tiffany had absolutely nothing to do with the Diamond Supply Co. Dunk we got back in 2005. The brand didn’t embrace it at all. But here they are years later coming with a luxury piece that looks way worse than its predecessors.
So my question is this: If these brands are going to continue to play footsy with this culture that has been built and nurtured by everyday folk for decades, then why can’t they build something for us? When do they finally come to play in our sandbox?
We know the answer to that and it’s never. This isn’t something that’s going to happen. Reputations and bottom lines won’t allow it. Brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Gucci only serve the high end. That’s never changing.
That also is becoming true, in a sense for Nike, as the brand itself is slowly morphing into a luxury line.
The bottom line: Considering all that — along with the fact that the shoe wasn’t made for me anyway — I don’t think these Air Force 1s are something I’ll devote much time to thinking about. You probably shouldn’t either.
And, if we’re being honest, they don’t look that good anyway.
Nike just cannot stay out of court
Nike is already back in the courtroom this year after it decided to finally sue BAPE after two decades. This time, their latest target is Lululemon — again, Footwear News’ Shoshy Ciment reports.
What happened:
Nike is suing Lululemon for alleged patent infringement on its Flyknit technology.
Particularly, Nike claims the athleisure giant’s Blissfeel, Chargefeel and Strongfeel models use the same knit technology. The Swoosh’s claims revolve around the structure and manufacturing of Lululemon’s sneakers.
Lululemon says the claims are “unjustified,” in their defense.
This is the second time they’ve sued Lululemon in a calendar year. The first time involved Lululemon's Mirror Home Gym.
The backdrop: Nike is feeling awfully litigious these days, man.
It’s gone after corporations including Adidas (for Flyknit), StockX (for its NFT marketplace), Lululemon (for Mirror and Flynit) and BAPE (for the Air Force 1)
It’s also gone after individuals including John Geiger (for the Air Force 1), Warren Lotas (for the Dunk), Kool Kiy and Omi together (for the Jordan 1) and MSCHF (for the Air Force 1 and Air Max 97).
The endgame here is unclear to me. Obviously, the company is protecting its intellectual property. But why? Bobby Hundreds outlined a solid reason here in his Substack blog.
Due to eased access to manufacturing facilities, stock molds and lower minimums on production orders, it’s become a trend for rappers, upstart designers, and renegade artists to customize their own twist on an iconic sneaker silhouette.
It still feels like there’s more to it than this though. For me, it feels like with Nike’s dive into the Metaverse and .Swoosh becoming a staple for the brand, the company is attempting to set precedent in the physical world that might help protect any virtual product that may arise. But that’s just speculation on my part.
One thing is very clear to me, though. All you up-and-coming designers out there need to be very, very careful. Nike will come for you.
Michael Jordan really got rich off sneakers
I mean, Jordan was already rich. But now he’s rich rich. Times ten. According to Front Office Sports, the man has made $19.1 billion over the last five years.
The math: MJ doubled his NBA career earnings off of residuals from $5.1 billion in Jordan Brand sales in 2022.
The Hornets owner reportedly earns 5% annually from Jordan Brand sales. If those figures hold up, that’d give MJ a $256 million takeaway for the year.
To be clear, Jordan only made about $86 million throughout his career in the NBA. Adjusted for inflation today, per Hoopshype, that gets to $166 million. Jordan has somehow even cleared that figure in one calendar year.
That’s a lot of money, man. Him making this much as the face of Nike is pretty wild. It makes me wonder about the next stages for folks like LeBron James and even the Kobe Bryant estate.
This is why I think a Team LeBron brand is coming. It’s only been rumored over the last few years and James also made mention to it a few years back. LeBron James wants to own an NBA team someday. He’s made that clear and is already lobbying for it.
Let’s be real: Jordan struck gold here in a way nobody else can even think about. We’ll probably never see another phenomenon like Michael Jordan again — both on and off the court.
Put on your sneakers for Black History Month
Big shouts to friend of KYW, JerLisa, who is doing her Black History Month Kicks of the Day call to action on Twitter again and I just wanted to encourage everyone to give her a follow and participate.
She’s got themes for each day of the month, all centered around Black History, Black culture, and our brightest Black luminaries. It’s Black as hell, y’all.
These are the rules:
Just follow the hashtag and get it poppin. Have some fun and celebrate the culture. That’s what this is all about.
Feel free to double up with #TheKicksYouWear, too! Show off your kicks, man. Speaking of…
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBES!
First the homie Yosh kicked us off with a nice lil pun and these fly Adidas joints.
Then the homie Tej and his baby boy popped out in the Waffle Ones and some fly AJ1s. Stunting.
My dog Dandin came through, per usual, with the classics. Them Heat LeBron 9s are where it’s at.
The homie Candace popped out in the Georgetown 3s and I’ve still yet to get a pair of these. I regret it every day.
The homie Sudds came through with the Bricks & Wood 9060 and, yes, that is the sound of more regret on my end.
My dog E Thorpe popped out in the Orketros from Sean Wotherspoon and ADIDAS IS BACK BABYYYYYY.
The homie Brittanie came through with the Royal Toes on DECK. Stunted with the watch, too.
Then the homie Andrew Leist sent us home with the De La’s. THEY’RE STILL SO FREAKIN GOOD.
SMOKED IT.
Thank you so much for rocking with me today, family! Hope you had a fantastic week and have an even better weekend ahead of you.
Let’s chat on Monday. Til next time. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯