The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 424 — Kith has something for everyone
And it's all pretty expensive. But there are levels.
Goooood morning, friends! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you.
The Knicks are going to the Conference Finals and, somehow, the sky isn’t falling. Well, not here, anyway. I’m pretty sure they’re still rioting in the streets around Madison Square Garden. But whatever, Knicks fans. Enjoy this run. You deserve it.
Let’s jump in.
Kith is selling boats now
We’ve seen Kith dabble in a lot of things — sweets, chess and checkers sets, arcade machines. But boats? Nah. I never saw boats coming.
What’s happening: Kith is selling boats. Yes. Actual boats. The ones that go in the water. I’m not sure there’s any other kind of boat? Anyway. I’m rambling.
Ronnie Fieg’s brand has partnered with Cigarette Racing — a luxury powerboat company — to collaborate on three made-to-order Kith boats.
The trio of vessels are the 515, the 42’ X and the 42’ Auroris.
They all cost upward of $1.6 million. Yes, you’re reading that number correctly.
As always, the branding with Kith is swaggy. The promo video feels like something directly out of a Rick Ross music video. This is incredible.
Yes, but: For someone like me, it’s simply unattainable! That sticker shock won’t wear off. I’ve never envisioned myself buying a boat, but even if I were going to, I certainly couldn’t — and probably wouldn’t — pay $1.6 million for one.
With that said, I still shop at Kith. I still check on the brand’s sneaker raffles every other day. I still will add a pair of shades and a few tees to my cart to buy when the time is right and not a moment before.
That’s the thing about Kith. It’s what makes the brand so fascinating to me. Yes, this brand is aspirational. Yes, it’s luxury. But it still hasn’t quite managed to price me and so many others out of the market while reaching the top shelf of consumer wealth.
Don’t get it twisted: This brand is not built for everyone. Generally, it’s expensive. At the lowest levels, you’re paying upwards of $70 for t-shirts and between $150 and $200 for pairs of sneakers.
But, to me, that’s the sort of thing that makes this brand work. Yes, it’s aspirational. Yes, it’s luxury. But there’s always something for someone to reach for. There’s always an entry point.
Yes, on the extremely high end of the spectrum, you’ve got the $1.6 million boats that surely only a handful of people shopping with the brand can afford.
Somewhere under that, though, you’ve got the folks who are buying a thousand-dollar luxury jackets, suits, arcade games, golf gear and accessories from the brand’s various partnerships and collaborations.
Then, there are the folks like me, who are really mostly here for the sneakers (like the upcoming New Balance 2010s drop) and might splurge on an occasional t-shirt or a nice shirt-shorts combo if my last check hit right.
That’s an extremely delicate dance that few brands can pull off.
The other side: Kith isn’t perfect. One might argue that the high end is getting a little too high these days, and I might agree with that.
I certainly don’t know anyone who’d be willing to splurge $1.6 million on a Cigarette boat and you probably don’t either. I wonder if Kith should segment ultra-high-end luxury products and experiences like the Taylor Made golf tournament ($6,000 per entry) into another brand altogether.
Some portion of Kith’s consumer base can clearly afford these experiences and products. That’s not something the brand should ignore. But how long can you continue to do that without alienating folks from the base of the brand? Does that even matter? I’m not sure.
My take: I always hear brand comparisons to Ralph Lauren, but that doesn’t quite feel right to me. I don’t think we’ll ever see Kith mass-marketed in department stores nationwide. This brand is something smaller, yet more exclusive.
I don’t think that makes it better. Kith ain’t Ralph and it’s not close. But I’ve got to admit that it does feel a little special when you put it on. That’s the feeling Ronnie Fieg has perfectly curated with this brand — not just for you and me, but for the big brand CEOs out there, too.
I’ve got to admit that’s pretty impressive.
The right way to bring back a legend
I’m still very against Nike opening up its vaults and bringing back some of the most limited sneakers released over the years.
Where we’re at: I’m fighting a losing battle. This train is headed down the tracks and it isn’t slowing down. Momentum continued this weekend with the Seoul Air Jordan 3.
The Seoul AJ3 was released in 2018 to celebrate two things: The 1988 Olympics and the 1988 NBA dunk contest, when MJ won it in the AJ3.
Only around 800 pairs were released in 2018, exclusively to folks in South Korea.
I’m here for democratizing shoes, generally speaking. I think certain pairs are fine to bring back every few years to keep materials up to date and maintain a brand image. But when a pair means something special to a specific community, I don’t think it’s something we all need access to. That’s how I feel about these AJ3s.
That’s why I loved how Major D.C. released these sneakers over the weekend. I’d noticed this on my Instagram feed and wanted to share it.
Major is a streetwear boutique owned and operated by Duk-Ki Yu, who lives in D.C. but hails from Seoul. With his particular connection to this sneaker, he made sure that people who shared that connection with him were the first priority for this drop.
Here’s how: Major established three ways to get access for Saturday’s drop. They had to
Have a picture wearing Hanbok — traditional Korean outfits work during holidays and formal occasions.
Have a permanent tattoo featuring Korean characters or a Korean flag design.
Or wear MAJOR’s Korean flag fitted cap to the release.
If you could meet one of those three criteria, you’d be moved to the front of the line. If pairs were left over, they’d be sold to everyone else.
Yes, this is gatekeeping.
Yes, it makes the release that much harder on people.
Yes, it goes against the whole “democratization of sneakers” thing I mentioned supporting earlier.
But this sneaker isn’t just a sneaker. It’s a representation of the specific community it was made for. It’s a celebration of their culture at a time when celebrating culture isn’t necessarily the safest thing in the world to do.
Sometimes — especially these days — it’s OK to let people have that. It’s OK for some things to be gatekept. This is one of those things.
Good on Major and Duk-Ki for doing this their way.
Jordan Brand makes a big WNBA splash
Jordan Brand has built a solid foundation in the women’s basketball space. All it’s been missing is a star player that might help it break through.
Now, it may finally have one.
The news: WNBA star and Unrivaled league co-founder Napheesa Collier has signed a sneaker and apparel deal with Jordan Brand. She confirmed the move on X.
Collier immediately becomes the headliner of a Jordan Brand WNBA roster that features the likes of joins a Jordan Brand roster of 12 players, including Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby and more.
It also comes months after Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally left Jordan Brand for Adidas.
What’s coming: Collier told Sportico that part of the reason Collier signed with JB was because Michael Jordan, himself, visited her in Miami during the Unrivaled season to make a “meaningful” pitch about the brand’s ethos.
You’ve got to wonder if a signature sneaker was part of that pitch. Collier said to “stay tuned” on the possibility of a signature model coming down the line.
That doesn’t tell us much, but it’d be a huge mistake for Jordan Brand not to take advantage of this opportunity with a signature model.
After all, that’s ground this brand has never broken before. Jordan Brand has never had a female signature athlete on its roster.
Maya Moore came close with several player-exclusive Jordan models, but she never had a sneaker to call her own.
Collier is one of the best players in the WNBA and one of women’s basketball’s most recognizable stars. This is a huge move and a big chance for JB to broaden its horizons.
Let’s hope it gets this right.
Creativity works
This is easily one of the flyest promotions I’ve seen in a long time.
Lil Yachty is releasing a new pair of Concrete Air Force 1s this week. He went through New York and took pictures of people in the sneakers and turned those photos into a magazine.
Zines are back, gang!
I already loved everything about Lil Yachty’s second Concrete Boys Air Force 1.
These sneakers remind me of the bygone era I cut my teeth in. The early aughts, when the brightest of bright colors on your sneakers shaped your entire outfit. The era of Bape, Ice Cream, Nike iD’d Dunks and so much more.
Stacking that nostalgia hit with this combination of creativity and community has me buzzing. This is so fun.
I know that mess with Bimma last year was extremely weird and off-putting. But if Yachty is bringing fun like this into sneaker culture, I’d love to see him do more.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Nike “What The” Kobe 9 Elite Protro — Wednesday, May 21
New Balance 2010 “Grey Days” — Thursday, May 22
Lil Yachty x Nike “Concrete Boys” AF1 — Thursday, May 22
Nike Air Diamond Turf Pro 92 — Friday, May 23
Atmos x New Balance 1000 “bandhnu” — Friday, May 23
Air Jordan 4 “White Cement” — Saturday, May 24
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Appreciate your time today. Hope you enjoyed the newsletter.
As always, if you have questions, comments or concerns feel free to hit me via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or shoot me a message here via Substack.
Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯