The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 427 — Building with Lego
Nike is finally giving out details on its collab with Lego.
Good morning, gang! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for working with me today. Appreciate you!
HOUSEKEEPING: No newsletter on Monday. Will be traveling to NYC for my wife’s birthday. If you’re in the area, holla at ya boi. We’re going to see Wicked. Hopefully, it’s pretty good! (Of course it will be). Shoutout to the Knicks forcing a Game 6. Maybe I’ll catch the game at a bar or something.
Let’s get to it.
LegoVision
Almost a year ago, we learned about Nike and Lego linking up after Adidas dumped the latter.
We’ve been getting rumor after rumor about what the two megabrands might have in store for their core audiences and how they might make this collaboration work. Now, we’ve finally got some insight.
What’s happening: Nike detailed everything coming in 2025 from its collaboration with Lego. There’s a lot I like. There’s some stuff I didn’t like. We’ll go through it all.
The details: There are three key aspects to pay attention to in this partnership.
First: The apparel. The brand is dropping sneakers and clothing as part of the collab.
The first sneaker drop will feature a Lego-fied version of the Air Max DN with a bright yellow brick-like upper. That drops on August 1.
The second sneaker drop is a Nike Dunk. It’s white with black trim and looks like one of those cartoon-like custom sneakers. This drops in September.
The second: The Lego set. When Nike made its big Lego announcement this week, it also made a new 1,180-piece Nike Dunk Lego set immediately available for pre-order. It ships by July 1 and costs $100.
The third: The activations. Nike is taking this show on the road.
Starting on June 7 through 11, Nike is opening a “Lego Play Arena” to the public at LEGOLAND in California.
Following that, Nike is hosting an activation with Lego in London to celebrate the summer football season from July 19 to 27.
A bonus: Nike’s athletes are also involved in this one. The brand has A’ja Wilson signed on as the first athlete on Nike’s roster to support the collaboration.
What I love is how out in the open this collaboration is. This isn’t just an activation at ComplexCon. I don’t mean to downplay Adidas with that — that brand signed on with Lego at a tough time. But a Lego activation at a sneaker convention seems like a clear misunderstanding of the collaboration itself and who it’s for.
Nike is targeting the youth with this collab. These activation locations feel more intentional. They’re doing work around the International Day of Play. They’re heading to Legoland. They’re celebrating sports with the kiddos. To me, that’s how you’re supposed to do this.
What I don’t love are the sneakers and the apparel. Boy, do they feel uninteresting. The Air Max DN didn’t work on its own. Is a Lego collab supposed to make someone tap in? And that Dunk feels like something I’ve seen before.
Again, this is for kids. Maybe I’m just missing the point here. But if you want the niche sneakerhead audience on your side, you’re simply going to have to come harder than that. Maybe Nike will do that down the line. But right now, this ain’t it.
That Dunk Lego set is kind of fun, though.
The big picture: This is a good start for this collab. It’s an interesting start. That’s a win for Nike at a time when the brand needs wins more than ever.
Doing this right means nailing it with the most important audience in the sneaker world: The kids. If you get it right with them, not only do you get parents to spend money now, but you also get adults years down the line who will spend with you later.
On again-off again
Market instability is the theme of 2025.
What’s new: There’s more tariff drama on the horizon. A U.S. trade court initially ruled that all tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful.
The court ruled that Trump didn’t have the authority to impose the sweeping tariffs worldwide.
The IEEPA is only supposed to be enacted under states of emergency and there is no current emergency.
So, with that, the tariffs were wiped away. The markets bounced back, and sunshine and rainbows claimed the skies.
Of course, it wouldn’t last.
Yes, but: The administration took the ruling to a federal appeals court, as it initially promised to do if it didn’t get a favorable ruling when the trade court proceedings first began.
The appeals court paused the decision made by the trade court, effectively reinstating Trump’s tariffs until the proceedings on the appeal are over.
Meanwhile, a district court ruling in Washington, D.C. also ruled that Trump doesn’t have the legal basis to impose these tariffs.
Where things stand: The tariffs are still in place, for now, but clearly, they’re no longer standing on solid ground — if they ever were.
At stake: If the tariffs are lifted, every sanction Trump has imposed on foreign trade so far would be eliminated. That would include the 30 percent tariff on China and the 10 percent tariff on other countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and so many others that the fashion industry relies on.
This whiplash will continue in the months to come. Meanwhile, the industry will have to deal with all the uncertainty.
SGA’s shot
Y’all know how I feel about the spicy sneaker wars. Competitive advertising is fantastic to me. No brand has done it better over the last few years than Adidas and Anthony Edwards.
The brand has been using Edwards to attack its rivals’ basketball product relentlessly. Just a month ago, the Timberwolves beat the Lakers in the playoffs and Adidas called the man the “Kingslayer.” That’s a shot at LeBron James, FYI.
Fast forward: Today, the shoe is on the other foot (pun intended). Edwards and Adidas are the targets of Converse’s latest ad for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The ad itself is pretty simple.
It’s an ant running around on some sand with text overlapping the video. “Nothing left 2 say?” it says, playing up the NBA MVP’s No. 2.
It finishes up with the outsole print from the Shai 001.
Watch:
This is fun. It’s the spiciness I love to see. Especially from a brand like Converse.
Yes, but: There’s an enormous element in this ad that mitigates the impact somewhat. It doesn’t have anything to sell!
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s signature shoe isn’t on shelves yet. You can’t buy a pair right now.
You won’t be able to do so for a while. These shoes won’t release until the fall.
So, really, as neat as this ad is, what’s the point of it? It’s almost like Converse is taking shots just to take shots. That’s great for critics like me who devour this stuff. But it doesn’t really do anything else.
The big picture: Converse. It’s time. Shai is in the Finals. His star is as big as it’s ever been right now. Strike while the iron is hot and give us these sneakers.
Wtf is this logo?
Let me start this by saying that I don’t think Tyrese Haliburton is overrated. I think he might be one of the best five players in the NBA. And I love the fact that he’s with Puma — I can’t wait to see his signature shoe.
But the brand unveiled Hali’s signature logo, and, well, I hate it.
It took me a few hours to figure out that this was a T and an H instead of just a puddle. It looks even worse when HALI is written out.
Puma, love you guys. But I really don’t know what we were going for here.
#TheKicksWeWear
My dog Hardly Clerkin popped out to the Kendrick show in the AJ1s. Love to see it. What a view.
The homie Blair came through with more AJ1s pulling for the Pacers. Better luck in Game 6, homie!
The homie DC came through with the Rayssa Leal Dunks! Love these joints. This color is too sweet.
The homie Jess came through with the Nigel AJ4s! What an anniversary gift. Big shouts to hubby for this one.
Then the homie Jarem took us home with these Bleached Travis joints and, well, this is the best pair of Travis ANYTHING that I’ve seen in my life. I’m sure of this.
Y’all did that, man. Good stuff.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate you. Have an excellent weekend.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to hit me at mikedsykes@gmail.com or shoot me a message via Substack here.
Until next time. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯