The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 388 — Does the fastball still work? 👀
How excited are we about the upcoming Union Jordan 1?
Gooood morning, folks! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me today. I appreciate you reading this morning. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
Tomorrow is election day. If you’re on pins and needles this week, don’t worry. You are not alone. We all are. I hope you’re able to keep calm through all the chaos that we’ll see over the next few days. Hopefully, KYW can serve as a bit of an escape.
Let’s jump in.
A big test for the Jordan 1
We’ve got a delay on the upcoming Union LA Shadow x Chicago Jordan 1. They were supposed to be here in February. Now, they won’t release until summer 2025, according to prominent sneaker leaker zSneakerheadz. That’s a pretty large shift.
This is why I always take schedule leaks with a grain of salt. Plans can change. I think it’s always best to wait on official word for sneaker releases and let the details come from there.
But that’s not what I’m most interested in with this drop. What I’m excited to see is, well, whether this actually works.
Yes, I know: That sounds crazy. We’re talking about a Union AJ1. The first two AJ1s still stand as two of the best collabs in the last decade. Both 2018 pairs still resell for thousands of dollars at this point. They’ve easily elevated to grail status for many over the last few years.
But don’t you feel like a redux here feels a little dated? The Jordan 1 market ain’t what it used to be.
The numbers: I’m generally not one to gauge interest in a shoe through resale data, but I think it is a solid barometer for figuring out people’s overall interests. With that in mind, StockX’s latest data report from August shows us that Jordan 1s are trending down for the first time in a long time.
According to the data, Jordan Brand’s overall growth in the market has decreased by 22 percent year over year.
The average price of Jordan 1s on the platform has also dipped by 18 percent.
That’s not to say that people are no longer interested in Jordan 1s. For example, Travis Scott’s Jordan 1 low models still do numbers. But outside of those Travis joints, there seems to be a clear waning interest there.
Think back: The last Union collaboration shows us that. The AJ1 collab between Union, Bephie’s Beauty Supply and Jordan Brand that dropped in 2023 was one that people would’ve gone crazy over in 2021. That wasn’t the case last year.
That doesn’t mean the shoe was bad. It was just a clear indication that the people’s tastes had shifted away from the model that’d been doing so well for Jordan and its collaborators for over a decade. It’s a natural progression.
The brand’s decision-making reflects that. There were fewer Jordan 1s and more Jordan 5s, Jordan 3s and Jordan 2s. Even the Jordan 4 RM has had a pretty nice run lately. While those models have worked, the Jordan 1 has been slightly shelved. At least in the collaborative space, anyway.
Circling back: That brings me back to the upcoming Union drop. I think it’s pretty clear that, when it drops, this collab will be a bit dated. But does that mean it won’t work? That remains to be seen.
However, some things are working in its favor that lead me to believe it’ll be just fine.
The Jordan 1 has seen recent success with its straight-up retro models. The Lost & Found Jordan 1s still did numbers. The upcoming high ‘85 Bred joints probably will, too.
Union combining two classic colors in Shadow and Chicago will probably generate a lot of hype. People still love those classic models. And, with this one featuring that Chicago colorway so prominently, it should do well.
The bottom line: The reaction to these will be fascinating, no matter how it goes. We’ll find out how much weight the Jordan 1 still carries these days.
I’m not betting against it. I’d like to know what you all think, though. Are you excited about the upcoming Union LA AJ1?
C-Suite musical chairs
Nike named Kizmet Mills its new Chief of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She’ll start her work in the position next week on November 11, Demi Lawrence of the Portland Business Journal reports.
Her background: Mills has been with the brand since 2016, according to her LinkedIn page. She’s was the senior director for global diversity, equity and inclusion for the brand before being elevated to her new position.
The story here isn’t that Mills is taking over. Rather, it’s the insane turnover the job has seen since 2020.
Mills replaces James Loduca, who was hired for the job in February of 2023. But, overall, she’s the brand’s fifth chief of diversity in the last four years.
She replaces Loduca, who replaced Jarvis Sam after he left the role after six months in November 2022. Sam replaced Felicia Mayo earlier that year. Mayo replaced Kellie Leonard, who served in the role from 2018 through 2020.
This is one of the strangest stories we’ve followed at Nike over the last few years. That’s a lot of turnover in an essential department. It makes you wonder how the brand can keep a solidified vision for diversity and inclusion.
The big picture: This seems bizarre, but it’s really part of a broader trend that we’re seeing with DEI executives across industries, writes Footwear News’ Shoshy Ciment.
“The short tenure of DEI chiefs at Nike reflects a broader trend. The average tenure of a chief diversity officer is just 2.9 years, according to a December report from board and leadership consulting firm Spencer Stuart. That ranks as the shortest tenure across all C-suite roles tracked by the firm, which found that the average total tenure across the C-suite was 4.6 years. In line with this trend, Colleen Mitchell exited Nordstrom after two years as its head of diversity, equity, inclusion earlier this month.”
While a 2.9-year average isn’t a lot of time, the turnover for Nike’s DEI chiefs would still be quicker, with five executives in four years now.
Yes, but: The turnover hasn’t stopped Nike from achieving some of its representation benchmarks for 2025. Overall, that’s a positive thing.
The bottom line: Mills is now Nike's first diversity chief of the Elliot Hill era. Let’s hope she sticks around for a while.
Resellers are broken
I saw a reseller on Twitter complaining about how terrible being a reseller is these days. Nobody is buying anymore! Not only is reselling not the quick come-up it used to be, but investing your time in it is simply not worth it anymore.
Last week’s Salehe Bembury drop showed us just how broken these folks are these days.
The backdrop: Usually, Salehe Bembury NB drops sell out pretty quickly and can resell for a pretty penny. The 1906r drop from earlier this year, for example, are still reselling online for three times the retail price in some sizes.
This 530 drop was different. For once, the shoes didn’t sell out. Anyone who wanted them seemed to buy them easily. Furthermore, it didn’t seem like too many people actually wanted them?
Resellers gonna resell, tho. Or, at least they’ll try to, anyway.
Folks are still trying to upsell pairs for $100 above retail on eBay. The same is true for some of the sizes listed on StockX.
Keep in mind that there’s another release coming this week on New Balance’s site where pairs will likely be sitting, just as they were on Bembury’s site.
Like we mentioned above, the resale market has shifted and it’s hard to predict what will work from drop to drop these days. There are very, very few golden tickets for resellers out there.
To the homie I linked to above and all the folks like him, it might be time to find another hobby.
The Jumpman in football
Garrett Wilson’s Jumpman catch earlier this week is still seared into my mind. It was just so cool, y’all. Look at this thing.
Wilson being endorsed by Adidas made this all the more awkward. The brand synergy with a rival brand was undeniable.
Kudos to Adidas for not running from that, though! In fact, the brand played it up a bit. It posted a press release that looks eerily similar to the Michael Jordan “I’m back” joint from back in the day. “He can jump, man! Garrett’s not going anywhere.”
El. Oh. El. I love everything about this. It’s great when brands don’t take themselves too seriously.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Salehe Bembury x New Balance 530 “Prosperity be the Prize” — Thursday, November 7
A$AP Rocky x Puma Inhale — Thursday, November 7
Nike Pegasus Wave — Friday, November 8
Concepts x Asics Gel-Kayano 14 “OOO” — Friday, November 8
Wu-Tang Clan x Nike Dunk High — Saturday, November 9
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic week. Let’s make it a great one.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, hit me at mikedsykes@gmail.com or shoot me a message on Substack here.
Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
I thought Nike was supposedly phasing out the AJ1? I think they should just 86 the Union drop and actually focus on others silhouettes.
I was able to grab those NB 530s a few hours after the drop with no trouble! I was a little surprised; I really like the look of these and I'm excited for them to arrive!