The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 317 — Beating em to the punch 👊🏾
Nike scooped itself and...it was kind of smart? Plus, the Doernbecher drop looks fun!
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today! Appreciate you.
I just realized I forgot to do the mailbag this month. I’m such an idiot. I’ll make it up to you guys with two mailbag sends in November! That’s my bad, fam.
Alright. Now, let’s get it.
Nike is fighting back against the leakers
Nike did something pretty unprecedented on the SNKRS app last week. No, don’t worry. It didn’t give us all free sneakers, unfortunately. It did get us excited, though.
The details: Nike gave us the scoop on more than 30 sneakers that the brand will be releasing as far out as 2025.
You can check out the full list here. Here are my favorite highlights. Yes, there’s a lot:
There’s a reverse Ultraman pair of Dunks coming that looks incredible. Plus the “City of Love” Dunk SB pack is coming in the Spring of 2024.
Nike is bringing back Royal and Eggplant Foamposite colorways in 2024.
The Air Max SNDR is coming back in bright yellow, pink and orange colorways. The ACG line is coming with lots of heat, too.
This news was exciting, but it wasn’t what I was watching that had me captivated. Rather, it was why I was able to watch it that had me hooked.
Between the lines: Nike doesn’t normally scoop itself. We normally don’t find out a sneaker is about to release until just a few weeks before it hits shelves. We get the official images and the page on the “upcoming” tab in the SNKRS app, but that’s normally it. This broadcast deviated from the norm.
So what gives? Why the change?
The answer: Just like everything else, it’s the internet’s fault, folks.
More specifically, this happened because Nike wanted to get the drop on all of the sneaker leakers out there that have built followings off of spoiling upcoming Nike releases.
Every time you jump on Instagram, you see zSneakerheadz or Yankee Kicks dropping some new pictures of a shoe that won’t come for months.
For example, when the Reimagined Bred Jordan 4 comes out, we’ll have known what it was going to look like for at least a year at that point.
This showcase is Nike getting ahead of that.
That’s a problem: I know it might not seem like a small thing, but unofficial images and details can convolute a sneaker’s release once it finally comes.
Unofficial mockups can give people the wrong idea about a shoe and, ultimately, dissuade them from actually purchasing it.
Remember when that happened with the A Ma Maniére Air Jordan 4? It looked completely different from the official release. That turned some folks away from it.
Leaks have been getting out of hand for a while now and that’s what makes this adjustment necessary.
My take: Early looks are generally good. But they’re even better if the looks are coming from the brand itself.
It allows the consumer to know what the thing they’d like to buy is supposed to look like. It’s a good strategy in the way of battling back on counterfeiting, which is a huge problem in sneakers.
Will this temper excitement for a release that’s a bit further out than anticipated? Say, something in 2025? It’s certainly possible — especially for the less hardcore consumer.
But I’ve never met a sneakerhead who changed their mind about a shoe just because it took a little while longer for them to get that gratification they’re looking for.
If there were more people like that out there, I’d probably be thrilled. My collection would be much bigger.
Kanye will be back. What then?
If you haven’t already, you should take a bit of time to read through Megan Twohey’s explosive New York Times piece on Kanye West.
The details: It peels back every single layer of Kanye West’s tenure at Adidas and all of the gross misconduct that came along with it. He truly terrorized people at the company.
There’s a common misconception about West that his abhorrent behavior sort of just popped up out of nowhere in 2016. It didn’t. It always existed. This piece shows us that.
It takes us beat by beat through his time at Adidas and recounts his behavior through it all.
The article highlights him reportedly drawing swastikas on sneakers and praise of Hilter (which was clear as far back as 2013 if you look at this Yeezus promo!).
It also notes just how abusive and oppressive he made his workplace. It got to the point where Adidas reportedly assigned a human resources official to Yeezy hires, specifically, to deal with the problems that he would create.
The worst part is that Adidas was willing to put up with all this simply because the money was coming in.
The big picture: That’s not surprising. This is capitalism, folks. Bottom lines are all that matter. This corporate thinking is pervasive and not just with Adidas.
Be smart: Here’s where my worry kicks in. This is going to happen again. Kanye West will inevitably be back. Someone else will be willing to put up with his behavior because he still sells.
That’s why Adidas kept selling Yeezy after their separation. It’s why people are excited there’s new music on the way. Puck’s Lauren Sherman reports there have already been discussions around a rumored project with Balenciaga Triple-S designer David Tourniaire-Beauciel.
All that and West has yet to apologize. He’s yet to change. He won’t. But as long as the dollars make cents, somebody is going to take that change. I just hope it won’t come anytime soon.
Doernbecher fun with Nike
Nike’s 2023 Doerbecher collection looks fun, doesn’t it?
Background: For those of you who don’t know, Nike does an annual drop with Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. They work with patients in the hospital to design new, unique looks on Nike silhouettes. All the profits from the sales of these sneakers go directly to the hospital.
Take a look: Here’s this year’s crop of sneakers.
From the top left to right:
Air Jordan 3 by Hugo “Juice” Covarrubias Molina.
Nike Cortez by Sydney Little
Nike Dunk High by Macey Bodily.
Big Bubble Air Max 1 by Hailey Leyva
Nike Go Flyease by Christopher Musquiz Jr.
ACG Mountainfly 2 Low by Garrett Amerson
I’m glad we didn’t have an early leak that ruined this drop like what happened with a few previous iterations. It’s great that these kids will get to have the shining moment they deserve.
Those ACGs are calling me, Garrett. Thank you, buddy.
My top 5 spooky sneaks
Halloween is tomorrow, folks! I won’t lie to you — this isn’t my favorite holiday in the world. It’s fine. But it doesn’t get me a day off and I also don’t have kids to scare, so.
With that said: It has given us some pretty spectacular SPOOKtacular (yes, I did that) sneakers over the years. Here are my five favorites.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Day of the Dead” (2006): This is cheating because this isn’t a Halloween sneaker. It celebrates the Dia de Muertos, which is a Mexican holiday where spirits reunite with their loved ones to celebrate their lives. That’s always cool in my book. Plus, this is a grail for me. It’s one of the first Dunks I ever loved.
Nike “Paranorman” Foamposite (2012): These joints were a collab between Laika Studios and Nike celebrating the Paranorman movie, which was a pretty awesome flick. These kicks were even better though.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Freddy Krueger” (2007): This has got to be simultaneously one of the most creative — yet terrifying — sneakers ever created. It envokes everything about Freddy, from the dope sweaters to the disgusting blood stains. I’ve got a real love-hate relationship with these.
Nike Air Force 1 “Halloween” (2005): I’m not talking about the joints with the skeleton foot on them. Those are good. But this 2005 version? Man. That black and orange patent leather just looks fantastic. And I don’t even like patent leather.
Reebok Ghost Smashers (2021): Listen. I know these shoes are probably corny to some of you. But it’s Ghostbusters! The shoes have a backpack! What do you want me to say, man? No way these were getting left off my list. Shoutout to Reebok for the creativity.
Have any Halloween favorites? Drop them off in the comments below!
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Nike VaporMax Moc “Roam” — Tuesday, October 31
pg Lang x Converse Chuck Taylor — Thursday, November 2
Air Jordan 1 Low ‘85 “Summit Grey” — Thursday, November 2
Nike SB Dunk Low “Wheat” — Friday, November 3
Air Jordan 1 Low “Reimagined Royal” — Saturday, November 4
That’s all, folks! Thank you so much for rocking with me. I appreciate you. I hope you have an amazing week ahead of you.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
The LeBron Friday the 13th's were number one for me until the Dracula Trainer 3's. First shoe I ever tracked down on Goat and had to have!
I’m a real mark for Halloween sneakers, I get irrationally excited every year.
Some favorites include the Saucony Frankenstein shoes, the slime Air Max 97s, the blood spatter Jason Vorhees Lebrons, and the Ghostbusters Reebok Instapump Fury.