The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 319 — Small stories = Big wins 💰
Adidas is doing the right sort of collabs. Plus, AJ1s sitting? It's 2015 all over again.
Goooood morning, family! It’s Sykes, welcoming you back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me this morning. Appreciate you.
As promised, here’s the signup link for our first of two mailbags this month! Drop your questions, thoughts and concerns in there and I’ll get em ready for Friday! As always, thank you for your patience with me. You’re really the best audience I could ask for.
Let’s jump in.
Bringing the heart back to the collab
I know I already talked a bit about the Undeardof x Adidas Grandma’s Couch sneakers on Friday. But I couldn't stop obsessing over it. Adidas completely nailed this one.
The background: For those of you who don’t know, this is a collaboration between Unheardof and Adidas honoring the grandmother of founder Philip Lipschutz.
This collab stuck with me for personal reasons that I expressed on Friday, but it also feels like such a sweet turn of events for Adidas.
Let me explain: Adidas has lost the plot in a lot of ways over the last decade plus. Its collabs lacked substance and heart.
We’ve normally seen two sorts of collaborations with Adidas over the years. Most of the work we got from Adidas was either big celebrity endorsement products (Kanye West, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, etc.) or legacy IP products (Legos, The Simpsons, College Sports brands, etc.)
The problem was none of it felt human. The celebrity stuff was good at times, but it had no soul. It felt manufactured.
With the legacy IP it was like Adidas was throwing sneakers into a random collab generator and coming out with the product. Some of it worked. A lot didn’t.
Buying an Adidas collaboration meant you were simply buying a brand. Either the celebrity’s brand, the legacy IP’s brand or Adidas’ brand itself.
That can work if the brand's reputation is rock solid. That's why it works when Nike does it. Adidas doesn't necessarily have that luxury.
On the flip side: This latest banger from Unheardof is a complete shift.
You’re not just buying this shoe because it’s Unheardof or Adidas or because it has a special box.
You’re buying it because its story means something to you. It’s relatable. It’s sweet. It’s human. We all love our grandma, too.
That’s why seeing collaborations like this one with Unheard of and even the upcoming “Day One” Forum collaboration with Eric “Shake” James is so heartening to me.
Collaborations are supposed to feel special — they're not just a box to check off. Doing them is supposed to make you feel something and Adidas hasn't been able to accomplish that for a while.
The bottom line: The personal stories told through collaborations like these actually connect people with the product — whether it's with Lipschutz's grandma or Shake's day ones. We can relate. That goes a long way in today's sneaker world.
Why didn’t anyone want the Royal AJ1?
A non-collaboration Jordan sneaker sitting on shelves in 2023 isn’t shocking. We’ve seen this all year. But, typically, when Nike hypes a joint up like the Reimagined Royal Jordan 1, it goes. And it happens pretty quickly.
But…that didn’t happen this weekend when the Royals dropped. Not only did they sit, but they’re actually still sitting. Most sizes are still available.
The why: I can only think of two reasons these things didn’t hit.
As we discussed before, I think the materials play a huge part in it. I’ve talked to homies in my various circles about these joints and they all bump up against that. If this were the regular leather upper, these would’ve flown. The suede is a bit too reimagined.
I also think people are making a choice with these. We’re not buying every sneaker anymore. There have been three reimagined models to drop this year with these joints, the Satin Breds AJ1 and the White Cement 3. Plus the A Ma Maniére Jordan 5 is coming later in November. Lots of people just chose to pass on these.
The big picture: This isn’t a bad thing — at least not for us. I’m always here for the consumer having a bit of flexibility in our purchases and shoes not selling out immediately gives us that. You can decide to come around on these later if you’d like.
Nike and Jordan Brand executives will hate that. But, in the end, we don't need to care about a sneakers profitability or Nike's bottom line. That's not our job.
Our only role here is to determine what we like and what we don't. The brand should adjust accordingly.
The Sabrina 1s are having a run
Sabrina Ionescu’s signature shoe has been widely lauded as one of the best new signature silhouettes to come out recently. There were plenty of pairs in our Kicks We Wear thread last Friday.
Zoom out: The hype for these is catching steam. Hoopers around the NBA are picking pairs up, via Nick DePaula.
In the micro: It’s cool to see a woman’s signature sneaker being worn on NBA courts. It shows how much potential this signature model and the line overall has. These are popping up almost as much as Kobes are these days.
In the macro: This is a huge deal considering where women’s signature models are coming from.
Executives can no longer say there's no market for a women's signature shoe. That was never true.
That thinking was silly. This shoe proves it. People just want to buy good basketball shoes — no matter whose sneaker it is. If it’s good, the audience will come.
We’re at the very beginning of a long run for Ionescu’s signature sneaker line. I’m going to enjoy watching this flourish so much.
THE MOST ADORABLE SNEAKERS WOW
Nike’s new Swoosh 1 baby sneakers are supposedly built to help promote the proper gait for babies and blah blah blah.
Yeah, that techno babble is cool and all. I love that.
But, dog. These have got to be the cutest things I’ve ever seen.
Man. My niece ain’t walking yet. But I might have to cop and just keep a pair on nice for her. Because these things are just too adorable.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Kith x New Balance 990v6 “The Garden” — Monday, November 6
Nike Vomero 5 “Plum” — Tuesday, November 7
Air Jordan 5 “Midnight Navy” — Friday, November 10
Air Jordan 11 “Neopolitan” — Saturday, November 11
That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with me today. Remember, get your questions in for the first mailbag of the month! Let’s call this one the apology mailbag. Ha. We’ll still have our regularly scheduled joint at the end of the month, too.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, folks. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
Feel like a hater but like seeing those 1's sitting. Didn't need a suede remake. As always, thank you for the incredible content Mike!