The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 354 — Hoka ain't streetwear 🤷♂️
Hoka isn't streetwear, even if the brand's CEO might thing it is. I'll break it down for him here.
Gooooood morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you!
Hope you’ve got a fantastic Memorial Day coming up with a day off and some good cookout food.
IT’S TIME: Mailbag Friday is here! Drop your questions on this link for this Friday’s mailbag! From what my DMs have looked like over the last month or so, I know y’all have plenty to ask. So, please, ask away! Let’s dig into it.
Let’s do it.
A little too much dip on the chip
The idea of Hoka steadily becoming a streetwear brand has been heavy on my mind this weekend. Not because it is, but because I’m unsure how anyone could think that.
What happened: It all stems from this tweet from the homie Lois Sakany from Deckers’ Q4 earnings call indicates that.
The subject was brought up by the company’s CEO on the earnings call. While discussing Hoka, a point about running shoes “kind of becoming the new streetwear” was made.
The quote: “There's a generalized trend that running is kind of becoming the new streetwear. Those looks are adopted by more consumers now than they ever had been…”
I recoiled so hard when I first read the tweet. But I can’t lie—the idea ran through my head all weekend. Hoka? The new streetwear? I know the running trend is popping, but come on dog.
My take: Hoka is having its moment right now. It’s become a consistent growth engine for Deckers. To accomplish all that it has in just 15 years is undoubtedly impressive. But it’s nowhere near strong enough to be considered “new streetwear.”
Let’s be honest: People have many different ideas about what is and is not streetwear. I’m sure my definition is probably different from yours.
For me, there are three things at the center:
Intention: This is incredibly important when it comes to building a brand. What is your product intended to do? Who is your audience? Hoka doesn’t build streetwear. It’s a sportswear brand that specializes in trail runners.
Aesthetics: You know streetwear when you see it. You can spot the difference between a graphic tee from Stussy and one from Target. Both might be built for casual wear, but both aren’t streetwear. This is another key characteristic Hoka is missing.
Culture: This is where I think Hoka misses the big picture. A brand can build out whatever and call it streetwear. If the culture doesn’t accept it, it doesn’t matter. It’s not streetwear.
This is my biggest point — it overrides everything else mentioned above. A CEO can’t just look at the trends and decide what is or isn’t the “new streetwear.” The people get to do that.
And, sure, people are wearing Hoka right now. The brand has a few cool collaborations with cool brands like Bodega, Thisisneverthat, and more. But everybody ain’t wearing that, man. Everybody doesn’t think that’s cool. Hoka hasn’t penetrated the zeitgeist in the same way rivals like Nike, New Balance, Adidas, and even, say, Salomon or On has.
The flip side: Hoka has only been around for 15 years. It'll be around for much longer if it plays things right from here on out. Maybe there’s a world where this product falls into the zeitgeist like Nike, Adidas and the like did in the 80s. Sportswear and streetwear have always had a close relationship. It’s possible.
Yes, but: That takes years to happen. It takes putting skin in the game. It takes tapping in with the creatives and tastemakers in the market and making products that cater to them.
But then you have to ask yourself is that really worth it? Streetwear is such a niche space. It doesn’t make you money — that’s why brands like Off-White, Supreme and more are so expensive.
For Hoka, it might not ever be. And that’s OK! The space isn’t made for every brand to participate in. Hoka should do what got it this far in the first place. If the cool kids decide to wear them every once in a while, that’s great! If not, keep pushing.
But, usually, telling people you’re part of the cool kids club gets you kicked out. So I’d probably chill on that rhetoric from here on out.
Retro-ing for the sake of retro
Is Nike’s “Cult Classics” campaign confusing for anyone else or is it just me? I just don’t know why the brand is re-releasing some of these joints.
The backdrop: For those out of the loop, Nike announced this campaign a few weeks back. The idea was to bring back some popular models for the brands three most popular silhouettes: The Air Force 1, Air Max 1 and Nike Dunk.
The models being re-released are the Air Max 180 Ultramarine and Bright Concord, Air Max 90 Reverse Duck Camo, Air Force 1 Linen, Air Force 1 Ivory Snake, Ultraman Dunks, Dunk Veneer and Michigan State Dunks.
The presentation was cool. I enjoyed this movie credit format:
The timing: This is the problem for me. It feels like the retro button is being hit on some of these too soon.
The Veneer and Michigan State Dunk colorways were just released in 2020. The Air Max 180 had a revival in 2018. The Ivory Snake Air Force 1 was out in 2019. When something was out that recently, is there any point in bringing it back?
There’ve been pairs circulating for years now on the secondary market. If anyone has been looking for them, they’re attainable.
There has also been no opportunity for folks to build up true nostalgia for these, which is at the center of what retro is—one big nostalgia play.
The other side: You could argue that these are all guaranteed wins for Nike. People loved these pairs, and no matter how recently they were released, somebody who missed out four years ago will probably want them.
But I’d argue that bringing them back kind of cheapens them a bit for me. Maybe that’s just me, though. I hope everyone gets whatever it is they want out of these releases.
But I also hope we don’t have to see these shoes re-released again for a while.
Crocs enters the sneaker space
The moment has finally arrived, folks. Salehe Bembury’s biggest experiment at Crocs will finally hit the streets this week.
What’s happening: Bembury’s Crocs Juniper sneaker will be released this Thursday, May 30.
We’ve been seeing leaks of this shoe from Bembury’s Instagram account for months now, properly building hype for this moment. This week, the moment is finally coming.
This feels like the magnum opus for Salehe. It’s a culmination of all the work he’s done so far as the creative director of Crocs.
He proved his concept would work at the brand with his Pollex clogs and slides that have been an undeniable hit over the last two years.
This new Juniper sneaker takes that fingerprint design to the next level by putting it on an actual shoe and not just a clog.
Why that matters: This is a huge diversion for Crocs as a brand. Its best products have always exclusively been its clogs in their various forms.
For Bembury to be able to release a sneaker here with this brand, specifically, feels like a massive leap of faith and indicates a strong belief in the work Bembury has done with Crocs so far.
My take: I’m skeptical about whether these will work in the market or not.
On one hand, it’s Salehe Bembury. Generally, whatever he builds works. Plus, I think people will be curious enough about these because of the clogs.
On the other, there are so many good sneaker options out there right now. Can a brand that doesn’t build sneakers truly break into the market? We’ll see.
If anyone can get it done, it’s Salehe. Let’s see how this goes.
Nature is healing
Y’all remember in Avengers: Endgame when there was a pod of whales swimming in the Hudson River? Thanos’ snap caused nature to heal itself.
That’s what it felt like seeing a video of people crowding UP NYC this weekend for a pair of Jordan 17 lows. This is WILD.
In reality, this isn’t a good thing. When you see this, it signals that the store’s release probably wasn’t organized well. But this sort of thing happened every weekend back in the early 2000s! This is what it looked like, Gen Z. This is the chaos we were born into. Crazy, right?
I couldn’t do this anymore — especially not for a pair of $300 shoes. I don’t care if they come with a briefcase. More power to those folks, though.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Air Jordan 1 “Latte” — Wednesday, May 29
New Balance 993 “Sea Salt Black” — Thursday, May 30
Salehe Bembury x Crocs “Juniper” — Thursday, May 30
Nike Foamposite “Light Orewood Brown” — Friday, May 31
Asics Gel-Lyte III x Kith “Seoul” — Friday, May 31
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading KYW today! I appreciate you taking your time today!
Remember, it’s KYW mailbag week! Feel free to drop any questions you might have at this link here. You can also message me directly on Substack using the button below.
Let’s chat again on Friday, folks. Until then. Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
You right about Hoka, Mike. But I gotta say I'm tempted to cop those Ora Primo mules...