The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 278 — What's up with ya mans? Tom Sachs edition 🤦
It is never good when you start a conversation with those words.
Gooooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate you.
Hope you’ve got a fantastic weekend ahead of you. Should be a fun one on my end. Don’t forget to submit your questions for this month’s mailbag!
Let’s jump in.
Tom Sachs might be outta here
Just a few months ago we were all talking about how Tom Sachs had one of the best sneakers of 2022. Today he’s in the news for all of the wrong reasons.
The news: There are a couple of things here. We’ll dive into both.
First came this sprawling and horrifying report from Curbed where former employees a “cult-like” work environment created by Sachs. The report detailed a number of alleged abuses by the artist.
Sachs allegedly berated employees verbally and regularly threw objects when he was angered. There’s a terrifying story included of him throwing a typewriter through a wall and it incidentally hit an employee.
Sachs also allegedly made several women feel uncomfortable with the way he speaks to them, consistently talking about porn and his “type.”
In an absolutely shocking reveal, Sachs also had a room in the basement he called the “rape room” until it was changed to the “consent room” in 2016. The studio called it a joke, per Curbed.
Sachs — who is Jewish — also had a swastika taped over the red cross on a first-aid kit in his office. The stunt was part of work to “subvert and reclaim this painful part of Jewish history,” per Sachs, but has since been removed.
But wait, there’s more. Following that story, Complex dropped another bombshell. And Nike was complicit in this one.
The boxes from 2017’s Mars Yard 2.0 drop reportedly originally included the phrase “work like a slave.”
Nike recalled the box and removed the phrase just before the shoes hit retail.
The quote comes from Romanian sculptor, Constantin Brancusi, whose work Sachs idolizes. The full quote is “Work like a slave, order like a king, create like a god.”
The quote was reportedly included on boxes for fake pairs of the shoes modeled after the original look, according to Complex.
Absolutely none of this is a good look. Not for Tom Sachs. Not for Nike. Not for anybody.
What they’re saying: Sachs has denied the behavior alleged of him in the Curbed story. He has yet to comment on the Complex story. Nike released a statement following the release of, well, all of this.
“We’re deeply concerned by the very serious allegations. We’re in contact with Tom and his studio seeking to better understand this situation and how these issues are being addressed.”
It sounds like there will be an investigation here and Sachs will have a chance to explain himself amid these allegations.
What happens next: Honestly, I’m not sure. This should absolutely put Sachs’ future with Nike in jeopardy — when you look at their recent past with Kyrie Irving. The brand cut ties with him for much less.
The antisemitic propaganda was the nail in the coffin for Irving, but it is worth noting, however, that Irving had obviously grown disenchanted with his signature shoe line at Nike. That played a significant part as well.
Still, pending a reasonable explanation behind all of this — which, don’t bet on it — Nike shouldn’t really stick by Sachs here.
On the other hand: If we keep consistent with the theme of looking at Nike’s recent history, it’s probably smart not to hold your breath on that.
Its issues with Allyson Felix paint a dark picture of the company’s treatment of women.
There’s also a gender discrimination lawsuit out there with details on sexual harassment claims from women who worked at the company.
To be fair: Much of this stems from before 2020. And Nike seems to be working hard to make strides toward changing its company culture when it comes to the treatment of women.
Now the rubber hits the road. It’s time for the brand to prove it. We’ll see if it does.
The Last Dance sneakers are up for auction
The Air Jordan 13 Michael Jordan actually wore and signed from Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals is going up for auction at Sotheby’s.
Details:
These are game-worn shoes Jordan actually wore in the second half of the game when he hit game-sealing free throws to close the Jazz out.
Jordan signed the shoes after the game on the toebox and gave them to the ball boy.
How much? The shoes are listed on the website as between $2 million to $4 million, which is wild considering a solid gold version of the OVO Jordan 10 sold for $2.1 million. That’s apparently the baseline here.
Let’s be real: As wild as that figure is, it’s not really surprising.
This isn’t just a sneaker — it’s memorabilia. That’s a booming market. And it also tracks with other memorabilia items sold in the past. Here’s more from Julian Mark of The Washington Post.
In September, the jersey Jordan wore during Game 1 of the 1998 Finals — a series that was the basis for ESPN’s popular documentary “The Last Dance” — sold at auction for $10.1 million, double Sotheby’s initial estimates. It became the most expensive piece of game-worn sports memorabilia ever auctioned, overtaking the $9.3 million paid that May for the jersey worn by Diego Maradona in Mexico City during the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals, in which he scored a pair of historic goals. In August, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for $12.6 million.
These are silly amounts of money, but that’s just kind of how these things go. Rich folks who have more money than they can actually spend buy these items their icons wore and display them for everyone to see. Basically, it’s a flex. And that’s fine.
My only ask is that we stop calling these the most expensive sneakers sold ever. This ain’t just a sneaker. Ain’t nobody wearing them.
The Big Bubble Air Max 1 is pretty fly
For Air Max Day, Nike is bringing back the original original Air Max 1 model — the “big bubble” Air Max 1.
This model dropped in 1986 as the original Air Max 1 but had to be recalled after just a few months.
In extremely cold temperatures, the air bubble would crack and ruin the shoe.
The company sent me a pair and they’re really good. Just as good as the 2017 retro.
This whole retro vibe Nike is bringing into 2023 has been pretty fun between the reimagined Jordans and these joints here. I’m intrigued to see what other models they do this with.
Can we get an original cut of the Air Force 1? I might not look so stupid in that one.
A breakdown of the SB Jordan 4
If you were wondering about the differences between the regular run of the Air Jordan 4 and the Nike SB run, here’s a quick breakdown.
Rubber wings, lower drop inside, suede paneling on the toe. Looks good. Definitely seems more comfortable than a regular Jordan 4 — that airbag in the forefoot kills my pinky toe every time.
I’ll take that as a win. Hopefully, it skates well, too.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBES LETS GOOOOOO.
First, the homie Matt kicked us off with the Sashiko Denim Dunks and WHEW these are heaters.
The homie Random popped in the joint with the Gold Bullet 97s and these are SMOKING hot.
The homie Kyle came through with the Refined Future 1906r in that grey color and, well, I may have to double back on these.
The homie CJ came through with these AJ1 lows celebrating the best weekend in sports. March Madness is here, y’all. Tell em Candace.
The homie Demi absolutely SLID with these eBay Dunks. These joints are not easy to rock, y’all. She did that though.
The homie Jimmy came through with the Gym Red AJ1 and, honestly, he is absolutely right. SUPER underappreciated. This colorway slaps.
Then the homie Warren and his baby came through with the most adorable picture ever. OMFG. MY HEART.
Then the homie BMart sent us home with the Doernbecher Vomero 5. SIIIIIIIICKKKKKKKKKKKK. With the speed lace too? My goodness, man.
SMOKED IT. Especially them Vans.
Thank y’all so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you. It’s been a long time and y’all continue to hold your boy down. It means a lot.
Have a fantastic weekend. We’ll chat again on Monday. Til then. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯