The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 360 — The Spicy Sneaker Chronicles 😂
Did Jordan Brand really take a shot at Adidas? Or are we reaching?
Good morning, fam! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today! Appreciate y’all giving me a bit of your time today.
Having a good week? If you’re not, don’t worry. You’re having a better one than Drake. Anyone else catch the Ken & Friends show? That’s some elite-level hating right there. I don’t know anybody who hates anything as much as Kendrick Lamar hates Drake. I’m just thankful for the music.
Let’s jump in.
Let’s not make this bigger than it needs to be
Y’all know I love it when these sneaker companies get spicy with each other. So when people insinuated that Jordan Brand was taking shots at Adidas with its latest ad for Jayson Tatum after the Celtics won the NBA Finals, I was thrilled.
The spot itself is solid, sneaker beef or not.
What you’re watching: This “Don’t Stop Disbelieving” ad is Jayson Tatum flipping the bird to his haters.
It’s a play on “Don’t Stop Believing,” which is obviously inspired by the Journey song. Except it’s the reverse.
This ad was supposed to be a message to anyone who has ever said he couldn’t win the big one with the Celtics, or he couldn’t be the best player on his team, or whatever other cliché sports criticism you want to lob. That’s how I read it, anyway.
But… That’s not where everyone else stopped with this one. Because this ad used a billboard with an orange background, many folks seemed to think it was a shot at Anthony Edwards and Adidas following up on this ad right here.
Here’s why: On the surface, that makes sense. That orange color in the Tatum ad is similar to the Georgia peach hue Adidas has been using for Edwards’ spicy sneaker ads. It’d make perfect sense for Jordan Brand to match the energy there.
That said, though, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. I think we’re reaching a little bit.
On the inside: I spoke with someone at Jordan Brand about this. Here’s what I took away:
The orange color people are connecting to Adidas has been a color Jordan Brand has used in its art direction for weeks.
Check the brand’s Instagram page — the orange is there in the brand’s avatar.
If you look at this post dated May 15, the hue and font are similar to those in the Tatum spot above.
There’s enough there for me to dismiss this as a shot across the bow as much as I would love for it to be one. And when you think about it, would Jordan Brand want to use the biggest moment of Jayson Tatum’s career to take a shot at a rival brand? I think the folks at Jordan Brand are smarter than that. If they were going to do that, I’d like to think it’d be more overtly and creatively than the edge of a billboard.
At least that’s how I see it, anyway. Maybe I’m giving Jordan Brand too much credit here? I don’t know.
The big picture: I would love to see a back-and-forth between these two brands right now, this doesn’t feel like that to me.
Either way, shoutout to Tatum dunking on his haters. This is a well-deserved victory lap for the champ.
Goyard vs. The Sneaker Surgeon
Nike might be OK with Dominic Ciambrone, a.k.a The Shoe Surgeon, using the brand’s models for some of his customization jobs, but Nike doesn’t speak for everyone.
What’s happening: Goyard filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Ciambrone, according to Sneaker Legal, for using its canvas material on his various sneaker customization projects.
Goyard’s canvas is proprietary to the brand with its logos visible on the material.
Goyard also claims that Ciambrone didn’t acquire the materials from the brand and could not verify whether the materials on his pieces were authentic.
A look: Here’s an example of the projects in question via the complaint from Sole Retriever.
The backdrop: Goyard has been ready to pursue this for a while. It claims it sent cease-and-desist letters as early as June 2022, but Ciambrone continued using the brand’s materials for his projects. Now, we’re here.
What they’re saying: Goyard’s case against The Shoe Surgeon is the same as the ones we’ve seen Nike make. The brand says Ciambrone’s projects will confuse customers and could be mistaken for Goyard projects instead of customizations. That also gets exacerbated a bit considering that Ciambrone customizes different brands already. Goyard’s case here is legitimate.
Why this is a big deal: Remember when I talked about Nike potentially stamping out customizations it didn’t like through litigation? That’s what Goyard is doing here.
This could potentially cause a major shift in the customization game.
If Goyard’s case is successful and Ciambrone stops using its materials for his work, that would set a precedent for other brands to block customizers from using materials and designs they may gather from other brands.
Artists would be limited in the materials they can use for their projects.
That’s a major change. Customization and different prints in sneakers have existed for as long as this culture has existed. Dapper Dan threw Gucci prints on Air Force 1s back in the 1980s, man. A case like this could eradicate that sort of creativity.
We’ll see how this goes. But with this one, I think we should all hope the artist emerges relatively unscathed.
The Galaxy Foams are officially coming back
The return of the Galaxy Foamposites had been rumored for a while now, but on Thursday it became official.
What happened: Nike held another SNKRS showcase on Thursday for the upcoming fall and holiday seasons. It also showcased some of what was coming in early 2025, including the Galaxy Foamposites.
The foams will return next spring which probably hints at another NBA All-Star game release like the one we had for the OG pair.
Rumors have been swirling with sneaker leakers incorrectly telling us the shoe would be coming in Spring 2024.
The pair will retail for $240, which is $20 more than the original 2012 pair sold for.
The backdrop: You’ve heard about how chaotic the original release was. Folks camped out for days hoping to land them. The infamous Florida drop everyone always loves to bring up had police with riot gear involved. A true mess. That won’t be the case with the release being digital this time.
My take: I’m honestly unsure how to feel about this drop.
On one hand, this is a shoe I’ve always wished that I’d owned. It’s not a grail, per se. But it’s a special pair to me.
On the other, I also wish that they’d remained on ice for longer. That 2012 pair feels special — to me, it shouldn’t be touched. Restoring this kind of cheapens that pair for me and removes that feeling.
Regardless, I will probably be going for these when the time comes. So best of luck to us all.
Other release news:
Nike is having a blast with the Sunder. Gore-Tex colorways of the shoe are coming in 2025.
The OG Zoom Spiridon is re-releasing for the holiday season in 2024
The Air Force 1 is coming back in the classic “Escape” colorway. These are incredible.
There’s also the Vanta Black Air Force 1 coming this holiday season.
Y’all picking any of these up? Let me know in the comments. That OG Spiridon is calling my name.
Travis Scott must be stopped
Travis Scott selling his mug shot on t-shirts less than 24 hours after being arrested is so silly.
The man was arrested on Thursday morning in Miami for disorderly intoxication and trespassing, according to CNN, after getting into a dispute with the crew of a charter boat he was on.
By Thursday afternoon, this man decided to sell t-shirts with screenprints of his mugshot on them for $35.
We really do need to bring back shame. Sheesh.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!!! LET’S GET IT!
First, the homie Sean got us popping with the Pink Ribbon 990v4. These joints are lovely.
The homie Tej came through with the Space Hippie 01s. Nike, I’m going to need y’all to get cooking with these again.
The homie Nando came through with the Union AJ1 Low. I LOVE THESE SO MUCH. I’m mad I passed on them, man.
My guy Rube came through with the JFG 990v4 Intros. These joints never disappoint. Pulling mine out this weekend — gotta match the energy.
Then the homie Rohan closed us out with the FLIGHTPOSITES. YO. I haven’t seen these in YEARS man. What a pull. I love it.
Good stuff, y’all. SMOKED it. Sheesh.
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate y’all for taking the time. Have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend.
Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
(Oh, and def going after the Spiridons.)
re: the Tatum ad - oh, it's DEFINITELY taking a shot at Adidas. Not just because of the color, but because the Tatum billboard is COVERING whatever was underneath...which had that colorway.