The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 389 — I guess we're doing this again
Quick reflections on a Donald Trump's comeback and what it means for the industry
Good morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today — especially at this moment. It means a lot that you’d give some time to this silly little newsletter today.
POLL RESULTS: 34 of you voted in the Union LA Jordan 1 poll. Thanks for participating.
53 percent of you said you still needed the shoes. 32 percent of you called them dated. Another 15 percent said they were undecided.
Personally, I think they’re a bit dated. We’ll see how I feel when the date gets closer. Maybe I’ll reopen the poll then, too.
Alright. Let’s dive in.
I’m unsure what to say
Folks, as I sit here and stare at this blank screen, I’ve had about 40 hours to think about what I’d like to say to you here. And, honestly, I still can’t find the words. I’ve typed out and deleted three different drafts at this point because nothing really feels right. I think that’s less about what I’m writing and more about, well, *waves arms around at everything*.
I haven’t slept much in the last week or so and I’m running on fumes here. So, please forgive me if this reads like somebody wrote this out of a fever dream.
But whatever. Enough of my rambling. Let’s give it a shot.
When I started the Kicks You Wear in 2019, I never intended for this newsletter to become what it is today.
If I’m being transparent, I started this for me. It was a selfish pet project. Something like a Tumblr page but a bit more buttoned up.
Yes, I wanted to write about footwear and its cultural intersections. Sports, business, politics, tech, culture. The works. You know how we get down here. But, beyond that, I just wanted my own space to be able to talk my shit. I needed that. And I needed to find people who I could talk my shit with. I needed those folks to find me. That’s you. We found each other, and now, here we are.
Since then, this newsletter has grown beyond what I’d ever expected. It’s opened me up to so many opportunities. I’ve met so many cool people and done so many cool things because of it. That’s all great and I’ll forever be thankful for those opportunities and those people.
But as this newsletter has grown, it’s become less about what it brings me. At least in my mind, anyway. I’m more concerned about what I’m bringing you. Are you interested? Did you learn something? Are you having fun?
The Kicks You Wear is meant to be a respite for all of us. It’s supposed to be a place where you can spend five to ten minutes reading about the amazing sneakers you’re wearing and having fun doing it — especially when times get dark.
For many of you out there, the times feel dark today. Donald Trump is the future President of the United States. Again. Somehow.
I imagine many of you are still trying to come to terms with that. Don’t worry — you’re not alone. I am, too.
I’m not necessarily here to parse through his policies and how problematic (and terrifying!) they are. We’ll have plenty of time to do that over the next few years. We’ll actually get into it a bit in a second, but before we do, I want to acknowledge why this bothers me.
Convicted felons are unable to work as first responders. They can’t be teachers or caregivers. They’re unable to work in government.
But, apparently, it’s cool for one to be the president of the entire country!
That’s baffling to me. On top of being a convicted felon, the man has already been impeached twice. And he’s got two more cases that have yet to be (and probably never will be) settled.
Yet here we are. This is the man the American people willingly chose to lead them. What are we supposed to do with that? How do we move forward knowing that half the country is OK with someone like this leading them?
I don’t have the answers. I don’t know if anyone does at this point.
I know things seem pretty terrible right now. I won’t give y’all one of those spiels about how we can’t give up, or we have to keep fighting or whatever. Let’s keep it a brick: We’ve been fighting for a long, long time and this country is actively choosing regression.
We can’t give up. We have to keep moving. All of that is true, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear that from me. At least not right now.
I don’t know how to move forward. I don’t know what to do next. But what I do know is this: I’m here for you. The Kicks You Wear is here for you.
So long as it exists, this newsletter will always be a space where you can come have a good time and spend a few minutes learning about the sneaker industry and its surrounding culture.
When we do have to get political, we’ll do exactly that. Y’all know my bag. I can get deep into it. But, more than that, I just want you to know you’re not alone. I’m here for you. Let’s all be here for each other as we move forward.
How a Trump presidency will impact your purchases
With that out of the way, let’s quickly talk about how this Trump presidency will impact you as a consumer.
The bad news: It likely won’t be good.
What’s about to happen: We’re not entirely sure yet at this point because Trump hasn’t retaken office just yet, but we do know that he’s floated a universal 10 percent or 20 percent tariff on internationally imported goods and, at least, a 60 percent tariff on Chinese imports.
That’s not surprising. Tariffs were at the center of the Trump administration’s previous economic policy. Joe Biden did keep some around — particularly the tariffs on China. But now, it seems Trump is doubling down.
These tariffs will hit your pockets quite a bit.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated the cost of a 20 percent universal tariff with a 60 percent tariff on China would be about $2,600 per household.
The skinny: A tariff is a tax on internationally imported goods. They’re meant to encourage businesses to work with domestic manufacturers by making it more expensive to import internationally.
That sounds good, right? But that’s not exactly how things work.
The importing companies pay these tariffs. Most of them are international behemoths that are far too big to make such a drastic shift in the short term. So, instead of changing company policies, they charge the consumers a bit more on the back end to make ends meet.
An example: Let’s say Nike sources shoes from overseas for $25 a pop. They created 100,000 pairs, and the imports were taxed at 20 percent.
That’s an extra $5 a pop in costs on each pair. The tariff would apply to each pair. If you’re at 100,000? That $500,000.
Don’t forget there are also duties that are applied plus other import fees that need to be considered.
You see how expensive that gets, right? That’s how a simple model like the Air Force 1 transforms from a $90 shoe to $115.
Buckle in, folks. We’re going to see a lot more of that over these next few years.
Skynet is sniffing sneakers now
OK. We’re not really talking about the Terminator here. But artificial intelligence is being used to authenticate sneakers through smell.
Yes. You read that correctly. Through smell.
How this works: Osmo, a start-up that uses AI to create and identify scents, uses its technology to identify authentic sneakers, Business of Fashion’s Marc Bain reports.
The AI isn’t actually sniffing the shoes. It’s identifying the chemical composition of the materials used to make the shoes. Things like glue, leather, foam, rubber and more have a specific odor.
Osmo’s AI identifies the composition of the compounds creating that odor to determine whether a sneaker is forreal or fugazi.
Here’s Bain on how effective it’s been:
“The company has already conducted a pilot with a major sneaker resale company (it can’t yet disclose which one) and had greater than 95 percent accuracy distinguishing fakes, according to Mehta. The number might have been higher if not for a couple instances where Osmo believed shoes the company said were genuine were actually counterfeits that hadn’t been caught, he added.”
The downside: The AI isn’t perfect. For example, it can’t ID clothes and apparel at this point.
It also has trouble authenticating rare shoes. It’s good for products available in large quantities, but for extremely limited runs with only a handful of pairs in circulation, it’s harder to identify the scent because there aren’t enough examples available for the AI to determine the correct composition.
Basically, think of it like a hound. It can’t identify something it’s never smelled before.
The big picture: This is a fascinating way to use artificial intelligence in the sneaker authentication business and could be an asset for the secondary market — at least to a certain extent, anyway.
The price of the Kobes is going up
Speaking of prices going up, Nike seems to be hiking up the price of the Kobe sneakers.
Kobe releases seem to be a big part of Nike’s agenda for 2025. The brand starts in January with a couple of “Year of the Mamba” Kobe 5 Protro colorways in red and purple.
Sneaker Freaker says they’ll be a bit more expensive than usual.
“Unfortunately, both editions will hit the hip pocket a little bit harder than usual, with a recommended retail price of $200 attached to each pair. This represents a $10 increase from standard Kobe 5 Protros.”
On one hand, it’s only a $10 jump on a shoe that was already $190. If you want em, you were always going to go for em. Kobe’s have always been expensive, too.
On the other? Man. Here we go with yet another $200 shoe. Is anyone else tired of this? Because I certainly am.
What do you think? Is $200 too much or are you fine with this price?
#TheKicksYouWear
First, the homie Chris got us started with these INCREDIBLE Js. I absolutely love this colorway.
The homie Ty came through with the Sabrina 1s. These gotta be one of Nike’s best hooping joints out right now.
The homie Rohan came through with the Green Goblin Flightposites. I can just feel Willem Dafoe’s energy emanating from these.
The homie Mark popped out in the Bodega Anniversary 990v3s. Still one of my favorite joints in my collection.
Speaking of the Union 1s, the homie Ants came through with these absolute CLASSICS. Man. Love em.
The homie Cesar took us home with the Keisha Blue 990v4s and I’M SO INCREDIBLY JEALOUS. Wow.
SMOKED it. Man. Good stuff, gang.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with me today! Appreciate you giving me a bit of your time.
I know it’s been a rough week for a lot of you. Feel free to hit me up here via Substack or shoot me an email via mikedsykes@gmail.com. We can chat about whatever.
Peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
Mike - I am always so grateful to see your emails arrive. I don't even know you but feel like I do. I'm here for you as a supporter, friend and brother. Keep up the positivity and great work.
Thanks Mike for being honest and real with us. I agree, we are in for a grim few years.
The tariff situation is going to take a lot of people by surprise, I’m not sure that they’re going to be able to make the connection between the policy and their household budget. I like the economic protection that tariffs can provide but it’s not magic bullet and the people it hurts the most are the folks who have the least money. It’s more like sin taxes (soda, cigarettes etc.) in this application, sure they can raise much needed revenue but they end up hurting peoples wallets.