The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 345 — The Travis Scott Effect 🌵
Is Travis Scott more important to Jordan Brand than Michael Jordan is at this point?
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading. Hope you had an amazing weekend.
In my cart 🛒: Y’all know I’m tapped in with the JFG 1000. Specifically that Black Ice pair. They’re special. It’s not actually in my cart yet but, you know, hopefully it will be.
On my radar 👀: This look at the Nike City of Style SB Dunks is fantastic. That tear-away upper? OOOOOWEEEEE. I’ve got my eye on these.
Let’s get it.
Travis Scott > MJ?
Travis Scott’s impact on Nike and Jordan Brand, in particular, is undoubtedly enormous in 2024. But is it greater than Michael Jordan’s influence on the brand?
The backdrop: WWE legend Triple H (of all people!) thinks so. He said as much on Complex’s Sneaker Shopping.
What he said: "When you have somebody at his level that can say, ‘Hey this is cool,’ and that’s the biggest thing that’s there. … In a way, he might be more important to the brand than Michael is right now. His ear is on the ground all the time,” he told Joe La Puma.
His rationale: Scott has been untouchable in sneaker culture. His drops still break the SNKRS app. He’s done deals with everyone from Nike to Fortnite and McDonalds. His popularity is undeniable.
But… Does that make him more essential than Michael Jordan to the brand that Michael Jordan established? Scott himself doesn’t think so.
While on his “Jack Goes Back to College” tour, he was asked directly about what Triple H said. Here’s what he had to say.
"As flattered as I am by what Triple H said and how people speak to me, I think it's amazing, but even someone like MJ, I learned a lot just from seeing his journey. Seeing the journey through things like creating a brand and sticking to the truth that got you here. I think Jordan Brand, even separate from me, is big because the foundation of it all is built under being focused and winning."
Translation: Two things stick out to me here.
Part of this feels like holding the company line. Disparaging MJ in any way does the brand no good. This wouldn’t be a terrible slight at all, but would still be a slight. Travis Scott just ain’t gonna do that.
The other is far more interesting to me. Scott might believe this. He may see himself as part of a bigger puzzle for Jordan Brand — not necessarily bigger than the brand itself. And I think that’s the accurate read here.
Travis Scott is definitely the biggest thing Nike has popping right now. We know how he influences people. He moved the price of the Newcastle Dunks on StockX simply by wearing them on Instagram. That’s extremely important to the brand.
But, at the same time, Jordan Brand doesn’t exist without Michael Jordan. It’s so become so ubiquitous through decades of establishing its iconic catalog that it could easily survive without a Travis Scott.
Let me put it to you this way: If Scott left the brand tomorrow for whatever reason, do you think people wouldn’t still buy OG Jordan 1s? That’s ridiculous. The Holiday AJ11s would still sell like hotcakes.
Jordan Brand can create another Travis Scott. Travis Scott can’t find another Jordan Brand. That’s the power of MJ and what he’s built.
At the same time: That doesn’t take anything away from Travis. He’s not more important than the brand, but the brand still certainly needs him.
MJ is 61 years old. Sneakers are a kid’s game. The brand needed to be something beyond Jordan. Scott is the solution.
Ultimately, this is a perfect marriage in which both sides need each other to function at peak capacity. It’s as simple as that. And that’s why they’ll keep it going for as long as possible.
Joe FreshGoods: The master of the rollout
Nobody does sneaker rollouts better than Joe FreshGoods these days.
He knows how to tell a good story. Sometimes, he tinkers with nostalgia with something like the Outside Clothes joints. Other times he dissects the importance of niche cultural phenomena as he did with the Belly drop. And then, other times, he empowers people to discover and proclaim their personal superpowers like he did with the Performance Art pack.
It’s always something new, something different and it’s usually something Black as hell.
Here we are now: With the NB 1000, JFG is making a callback that will probably look familiar to most OG sneakerheads.
If you don’t know, this is a spoof of one of the most perfect sneaker scenes you’ll ever see: When the Get Money Boyz copped the Concord Jordan 11s and showed them off on the news for all of Houston (and, eventually, the entire country) to see.
Why this matters: This Joe FreshGoods pack is titled “When Things Were Purer.” That’s an apt description for this moment. “Man, we just came up here to have fun,” one of the Get Money Boyz says. That’s what this was. Fun! It’s when things were pure.
This was the epitome of what a hyped sneaker drop used to look like. Insanely long lines outside the mall and lots of cultural outsiders and bystanders gazing perplexed. You probably see all that and ask, “How on Earth can that be fun?” Fair question! Old heads probably romanticize these moments a bit too much.
But contrast that to today’s sneaker drops, though.
Everything is online and digital. There’s no interpersonal connection. Just clicking a button, hoping for the best and taking an L anyway.
Meanwhile, our complaints remain the same: There aren’t enough pairs. Never are and never have been.
At least back then, you had someone to be miserable with if you took an L. Or maybe you could celebrate your success like the Get Money Boyz did above. Regardless, you were part of a moment with other people. Maybe that’s a bit overrated to you. But to others, that’s what this is all about.
Shoutout to JFG for bringing a bit of that back.
Innovation Corner: Nike Shox
Innovation, innovation, innovation. We keep hearing this buzzword — usually regarding Nike’s struggles to cook up something interesting for the market. But the more I hear the word, the more obscure it feels. It’s more of a concept these days.
To make it feel more whole, I thought it’d be good to occasionally highlight some of my favorite footwear innovations with this section I’d like to call the innovation corner.
Today’s subject: Let’s talk about the Nike Shox.
The history: Nike didn’t release its first iteration of Shox until 2000, but it was an idea that Bruce Kilgore (the designer of the Air Force 1) worked on in the mid-1980s.
The basic idea was to build a sneaker with a mechanical cushioning system built to optimize energy return for runners through the shoe’s heel.
You’ve probably seen a picture of a Nike runner with the steel springs added to it. That’s one of the brand’s prototypes used to test the concept of a springy shoe.
How it works: Ultimately, Nike landed on sticking foam columns between two plates into the shoe's midsole. Those columns are supposed to absorb the energy into the heel and give the runner a bit of a spring forward on every stride they take.
Where you’ve seen it: Maybe the most prominent example of a pair of Shox most people know is the BB4, which is the shoe Vince Carter did this in.
The Shox Eclipse from 2018 is the most recent GR model to drop. Other popular models like the R4 (which recently dropped again) exist, too. The Ride 2 had a recent Supreme collaboration.
Why I love it: To me, Shox are the perfect embodiment of a Y2K sneaker.
Brands were trying a lot of weird stuff back in the 90s and mid-2000s. To me, the Shox has to be one of the weirdest experiments.
Some of the cooler models are above, but then there are some straight-up wacky ones like the TL with springs all around them. They’re weird but they’re good.
It also holds up pretty well today. The R4 has returned. The Martine Rose joints are weird, but people seem to like them.
The Shox are what lasting innovation looks like. The shoes had a unique aesthetic and also featured an interesting function. Quite the combination. We need more of this in 2024.
Read more: Read more on the history of the Nike Shox from Weartesters
Spot the difference
It looks like the JJJJound Samba pairs are finally in hand for folks. GawdOfFrames posted a GR pair vs. a JJJJound pair on Twitter. You can see the differences in texture and tone up close.
What you’re seeing: The JJJJound pair is on top. The GR pair is the bottom.
My question to you is this: Which do you prefer? Consider the pricing here.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
New Balance 1000 x Joe FreshGoods “When Things Were Pure” — Monday, August 8
Air Jordan 1 “Metallic Silver” — Wednesday, April 10
Nike Dunk Low “Veneer” — Thursday, April 11
Converse x Dungeons & Dragons Chuck 70 — Thursday, April 11
Adidas Crazy 98 (The KB8II) — Saturday, April 13
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for giving me a bit of your time today. I appreciate you. I hope you have an amazing week. Be awesome.
Let’s chat again on Friday. Until then, folks. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯