The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 398 — Sneaker Fashion Week
Sneakers stole some headlines at PFW
Goooood morning, friends! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate you being here.
Fly, Eagles, Fly! Shoutout to my birds for getting it done. We’re out here looking for revenge, dog. New Orleans. Two weeks. Let’s do it.
I wonder what J’s Jalen Hurts will wear?
Anyway, let’s jump into things.
Sneakers in Paris
Sneakers typically have a presence at Paris Fashion Week, but this year, it feels like they showed up in a bigger way than usual.
What happened: So many brands chose to unveil upcoming sneaker projects during PFW this week.
New Balance and Joe FreshGoods gave us a first look at the upcoming “Aged Well” 992. We also saw Action Bronson’s latest upcoming “Amazonia” 990v6.
Willy Chavarria and Adidas released their first collection at an Adidas pop-up featured during PFW.
Jordan Brand and Infinite Archives unveiled an upcoming collaboration on the Jordan 17 low.
Jae Tips and Saucony showed off the latest fruits of their partnership with the “I love you, But I’m busy” Saucony Grid Jazz 9.
Pharrell and Adidas showed off the new Jellyfish that looks a lot like the CL Response but chunkier.
Brooks and Jeff Staple showed off the upcoming Staple x GTS 4 we discussed last week.
Be smart: There are usually a lot of collaborative efforts announced during Paris Fashion Week. That’s kind of what the week is all about — the big brands announcing their big projects.
But what’s fascinating here are the names involved. These are heavy hitters. JFG, Jeff Staple, Pharrell, Willy Chavarria. The list goes on.
It wasn’t just sportswear — sports was there, too. The NBA featured two games between the Pacers and Spurs and Victor Wembanyama had on custom Louis Vuitton Air Force 1s that we’ll likely never see again.
The big picture: I find the question of whether the relationship between the sportswear and fashion worlds is currently deteriorating interesting — especially as all the brands we know seem to be pivoting back to the space where sports are their epicenter once again.
And you could legitimately argue that that’s needed. Some partnerships feel stale. Things feel overdone. Very rarely do we get something that feels legitimately new or special.
But if there was ever a clear indication that sports and fashion are still locked in with one another, I think this was it. Sports are still a massive playground for the fashion world and the brands aren’t taking their ball home anytime soon.
There’s so much money in sports now that breaking away is hard. Multi-billion dollar deals are on the table.
The obsession that sports fans have with fashion isn’t going away, either. We’re always interested in who wore what in the tunnel. It’s a runway now.
The athletes love it. See Wemby wearing Louis V or Cameron Brink doing her model thing in a commercial for New Balance.
The relationship between sportswear and fashion may change as athletes become the center of attention again. But, even if it’s different, you can be sure it isn’t going away.
Puma’s struggles
I’ve got to say, man. Branding a potential layoff strategy is pretty wild. I have no idea who workshopped this at Puma, but I’d take this one back to the lab.
What’s happening: Puma is implementing a new cost-saving plan that the brand calls “nextlevel” after its preliminary Q4 results revealed slower-than-expected growth last week.
Puma’s currency-adjusted sales grew 9.8 percent for the quarter to 2.29 billion euros. Analysts expected a 12 percent growth rate.
The brand’s profitability is shrinking. Net profit fell from 282 million euros to 305 million because of high interest on debt payments.
That’s why Puma is going the cost-cutting route. The brand hopes to cut down on some of that margin by shedding other expenses. Yes, that includes possible layoffs, though that hasn’t been confirmed. Usually, however, that’s one of the first strategies brands go to when they talk about cutting costs.
The backdrop: This Puma news comes after Adidas released its preliminary Q4 news, which looks very different from that of its German-based counterpart.
My worry: Puma’s drive to cut costs here is naturally what any company would do when its profit margins are out of wack. But I do think that Puma has a bit of a problem with the brand’s image today.
It has no calling card.
It once dominated soccer and footy culture, but Adidas has once again invaded that territory and turned it into a backbone.
Puma’s sportswear presence doesn’t significantly extend anywhere else. It’s present in other spaces, like basketball and motorsports. But it’s not dominant.
It also doesn’t have as strong a roster of celebrity endorsers as some of its competitors. After Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, who is facing potential jail time, who is Puma leaning on?
While it's cutting costs, I hope that the brand doesn’t forget to be creative, innovative, and engaging. Yes, cuts can help fix profit margins. But better sales can help, too.
If Puma can find a niche, I think it’ll be OK.
The Pegasus that was promised
Nike put a ton of interesting things on display during its AIR showcase in Paris last April. But I don’t know if the brand held up anything as much as it did the Pegasus Premium.
Why it mattered: One of the biggest critiques of Nike today is that it allowed niche competitors to take over the running space.
Newer brands like On and Hoka entered the arena and took small chunks of market share from Nike as the Swoosh continued to pepper us with retro and lifestyle offerings.
Older, more established brands like New Balance, Asics and Brooks did the same to a lesser degree.
The Pegasus Premium is supposed to be one of Nike’s answers to those critiques and to its competitors.
The timing: The shoe will be officially released on January 30 in the featured Airscape colorway. It’s something I’ll have my eye on.
What I’m looking for: I want to see the public’s reaction to this sneaker. It doesn’t need to be an instant sellout or anything. I’m just curious about whether folks will be interested in it.
To me, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.
The pros: The technology in this thing is incredible. Plus, it looks pretty good.
The magic is in the shoe’s three-layered midsole. It features Nike’s ZoomX foam in the top layer and React foam at the bottom. Sandwiched between those two is a full-length Air unit.
It’s also a sleek-looking sneaker. I’d argue that it looks better aesthetically than most runners.
The cons: I wonder if the midsole might be a bit overkill. Are we doing too much? Plus, that price. Blegh.
When I run, I like to feel the ground beneath me. Too much cushion and I feel a bit unstable and off balance. I fear this shoe might run into that problem.
Spending $210 shoe on a running sneaker just isn’t in most folk’s budgets. Especially when it’s not the top-of-the-line model.
The bottom line: Nike seems to believe in this thing a lot. Again, it was a major talking point in its Paris showcase. This was also the shoe that new CEO Elliott Hill has been sporting recently. The brand really wants this thing to work.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
I’d always wondered why the Wizard of Oz Dunks came packaged in a blind bag.
Now we know. Bluelite Skateboards sold a pair of Wizard of Oz Poppy Seed Dunks that turned out to be a pair of Ruby Slipper Dunks.
David Bluetile of Bluetile Skateboards got the person he sold these to to let him record a video with them.
What you’re seeing: Those are the Ruby Slipper Dunks — a limited edition pair that a super lucky purchaser of the Poppy Seed Dunks got.
They capture the moment when the Wicked Witch of the West tries to take her sister’s slippers after she gets crushed by a house.
The slippers burned her upon touching them. That’s the fire you see on the tip of the toe there of this sneaker.
Bluelite said this pair came in with a late shipment of Poppy Seed Dunks.
This is awesome. In a world where everything about every sneaker leaks these days, it’s incredible that we did not know these existed until more than a month after the full release of this sneaker.
I wonder if there are more of these already that people just aren’t talking about. I find it hard to believe that, considering how everyone loves to spill their secrets on the internet. But, hey. Maybe!
Either way, this is a nice surprise, Nike.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Adidas Samba “Cheetah Pack” — Wednesday, January 29
Jordan 1 Low “Year of the Snake” — Wednesday, January 29
Nike Pegasus Premium — Thursday, January 30
Nike x Travis Scott Zoom Field Jaxx — Friday, January 31
Air Jordan 3 “Valentine’s Day” — Saturday, February 1
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate your time. Have a fantastic week.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to hit me up via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or give me a shout here on Substack.
Until next time. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
Aside from Rihanna and Rocky they also have Skepta (guess this covers UK possibly Europe) but not sure of the impact he’s had but isn’t Roc Nation meant to have an involvement with Puma too or has that partnership ended?
On point with your Puma perspective. They have no calling card.
Back in the day both Pele and Maradona wore Puma. Gotta lean into that heritage and sign the new wave of talent.
I think motorsports is a good angle and a place they innovate. They need a collab with Sir Lewis Hamilton.