The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 282 — ❤️ Nigo x Nike ❤️
This is interesting news, but it's not necessarily the most exciting
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me and giving me some of your time today. I appreciate you.
I ALMOST FORGOT. Here’s the link for the April KYW Mailbox. Make sure to submit your questions for the April mailbag here!
Let’s jump in.
A couple decades too late
Nigo and Nike are finally going to work together, according to the latest from Complex’s Brendan Dunne.
The details: Nigo, the Human Made creator, has reportedly inked a collaboration deal with Nike after working almost exclusively with Adidas for most of the last decade.
Nigo’s Human Made brand was founded in 2014 and has a number of Adidas collaborations under its belt.
Even prior to that, when Nigo ran BAPE back in the early 2000s most of the collabs the company produced were with Adidas.
I’ll be honest: This is certainly an interesting move. But it didn’t necessarily excite me for a couple of reasons.
First: We’ve had a decade of Human Made with Adidas and, while the stuff has been good, nothing has been earth-shattering. And, quite honestly, I don’t really expect that to change with Nike.
We’ll get some shoes, and we’ll get some good apparel. But this probably isn’t going to be one of Nike’s premier collaborations. I think we missed the window for that.
Second: It’s that last point — we’ve kind of missed the window. It was wide open 20 years ago. There’s been tension there between Nike and Nigo in the meantime, but it doesn’t exist as much now as it did then. It also doesn’t feel like it matters as much.
In Nike’s new lawsuit against the company, it actually seemed like the two sides tried to get something together, but obviously, it didn’t work out.
Now, we’re here. But…we’re also not getting a re-imagined BAPE STA or anything. That’s not Nigo’s company anymore — he sold it in 2011 and left it in 2013 to start Human Race. It’s a completely different company with a completely different vibe and completely different products. That’s what’s coming to Nike right now.
I’m certainly interested in seeing what comes out of this. But it just isn’t the draw that it would’ve been in, say, 2008.
The big picture: Adidas is the most intriguing piece here. For the company to lose such a long-lasting relationship to its biggest rival definitely raises the brow a bit.
It makes me believe that Adidas actually is thinking differently about collaborations. This doesn’t feel like an L — it feels like Adidas may have just let Nigo walk.
I know that sounds wild, but when you add in the context of the Beyoncé and Ivy Park separation, you get a sense of why it’s plausible.
Adidas seems to be in an audit phase where it’s evaluating its partnerships post Kanye and Yeezy. It’s hard to say that the Human Made stuff has been truly fruitful over the last few years. We don’t have the numbers, but if it was a whopping success it’s safe to say that we’d absolutely know it.
No product is slated for Human Made and Nike before 2024, but we’ll certainly hear a lot more about this partnership soon, I’m sure.
Corteiz is restoring the feeling
So many of us — including myself — have gotten a crash course on the Corteiz RTW brand over the last few weeks with these mysterious pairs of Air Max 95s coming out.
The backdrop: That’s not uncommon. For those of you who don’t know, this is a UK Streetwear brand that has built most of its cultural equity simply based on word-of-mouth marketing, which is why most of us aren’t hip.
The brand was founded by Clint Ogbenna — also known as Clint 419 — back in 2017.
It started as a private Instagram page that sold gear with that infamous Alcatraz logo on it. Anyone who found this brand had to be told about it by someone else.
The brand also had to be quality to convince people to convince other people that they should follow the page and purchase gear.
Read more: Everything about Corteiz.
Fast forward to today: And all that word-of-mouth marketing has led to a Nike collab. Which has also led to craze in the streets of Paris, New York and more. Here’s what that looks like.
What we’re seeing: This is a rarity today. It’s hard for brands to get people to go outside. But with the way Corteiz drops, you have to.
The brand will post coordinates on its social accounts and followers have to go to that point to find and purchase whatever is being dropped. Think of it as a hyped scavenger hunt.
Obviously, the selection and quantity are very limited. Which is why this crazy exists.
This feels like what Supreme used to feel like back when its tactics were similar and far less involved in social media. It’s nice to see someone doing this again.
The other side: I’m not sure how long this lasts considering the global scale Corteiz is reaching now.
The brand has a Nike collab in 2023. I know about it. And now you know about it, too. I’m not sure how “underground” it can be considered anymore.
Regardless, I hope this energy stays for a while. The game needs it.
Kevin Durant is bringing hoop shoes back
Back in the early 80s and 90s, basketball sneakers were what all the cool kids wore.
It hasn’t been like that for a long, long time. Basketball shoes these days are a chore to wear outside of the basketball court. Two reasons.
First, it’s the technology. These shoes are great for basketball. All of the specifications that an athlete could require for a sneaker are built into the tooling. While that’s great for the sport, it’s not always great for comfort.
Second, it’s the aesthetic. All that tech pumped into the sneakers requires certain design choices. The simplicity in design and minimalist characteristics that we’re used to in our favorite sneakers these days (AJ1s, Dunks, etc.) go out the door.
With all that being said, I feel like Kevin Durant’s signature model has been bridging the gap a bit. Durant is debuted the KD 16 against the Clippers to open the Suns’ playoff run in a jet black colorway. Even the triple Black looks good.
Here’s a quick look at the other colors coming, too.
My take: This shoe…actually looks good! The cactus pic is weird. But these are solid. They’re not perfect, obviously. It’s still a basketball shoe. But these feel wearable and not a copy & paste model like other silhouettes on Nike’s basketball roster do.
And, best of all, I think Dom Kennedy might actually approve of these in the club. I’m into it.
Lost & Found Restock OTW
I’m sure many of you peeped this poll in the SNKRS app last week. Nike asked what your reaction would be if it restocked the Lost & Found Air Jordan 1 — would you keep it a secret or tell your group chat?
Most people said they’d keep it on the low. Yerboi is definitely hitting the group chat, though.
The point: Regardless, these sneakers are restocking soon. The brand doesn’t put this poll in the app without knowing that a restock is coming.
Keep those eyes peeled and the noties on.
What’s droppin, bruh?
Nike Ja 1 “Day One” — Wednesday, April 19
Adidas Campus 80 “Croptober” — Thursday, April 20
RTJ x Nike Dunk High “Active Pink” — Thursday, April 20
Nike Dunk Low “Team Red” — Friday, April 21
ASICS Gel-Lyte III “Rooibos” — Friday, April 21
Be on the lookout for some Joe FreshGoods news this week. The “Beneath the Surface” pack is dropping soon.
Thank you so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate you. Y’all are the best for giving me your time every morning.
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You can also submit #TheKicksWeWear submissions there since big Elon gotta hate on us here! Sigh.
Anyway, let’s chat again on Friday. Until then. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes💯
I think the LeBron XX is a good example of a cool hoop shoe you can wear casually. Some of the adidas Harden models have been nice like that too