Good morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me on this glorious Monday morning.
Appreciate you for being here! Hopefully, you’re enjoying some time off today.
Let’s get started.
The debut is digital
(Photo by Harpal Singh on Unsplash)
I never thought I’d see the day where a sneaker’s actual debut would happen in a virtual world, but it’s 2020 and we are here.
Damian Lillard’s Dame 7 made it’s debut over the weekend, but definitely not in a traditional manner. It was unveiled to the world via NBA 2K21 — the basketball simulation video game.
The debuted on the game in celebration of its release on Friday. Lillard is the cover athlete.
You can see Lillard actually wearing the “I Am My Own Fan” Dame 7 colorway in the game’s MyCareer story mode. He also wears them in game, as you can see here.
There have been some pretty dope sneaker rollouts through the years, but this one is up there.
NBA 2K has done activations with sneakers before. Just last year, it dropped a SNKRS collection of “gamer exclusive” Nike hoop shoes with Nike that could only be accessed and purchased both in the game and in real life by people who had NBA 2K20.
This Lillard thing is different, though. Those were new colorways. This is the first time we’re seeing the Dame 7. And it works well — it feels natural. This is a signature shoe being debuted on a basketball game by the signature athlete. That’s really cool.
We should get used to this. This is becoming the norm.
Video games are ad space now. And it’s not just with sneakers — just keeping with the NBA 2K example, you can literally buy your avatar clothes from top notch streetwear brands on the game.
And it’s not just 2K. Just think about the boost Travis Scott got from his “Astronomical”event with Fortnite a few months back. Gaming crossovers are valuable.
It’s because more people are gaming than ever before. And more people are paying attention to people who game — whether it’s watching someone stream or rooting for an esports team. That’s why we see brands like BAIT and Staple creating with and consulting for the Overwatch League, for example.
And now, we’ve gotten to a point where we’re seeing new products unveiled on video games. Again, 2020 is nuts. 2K is giving me new signature sneakers and BAPE to wear when all I asked was that they fix my jumper.
What a time.
The Z Code?
(Photo by Will Breen on Unsplash)
The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here. Well, uh, I guess it’d be more accurately described as on the way.
Zion Williamson is getting his own signature shoe with Jordan Brand and it’s reportedly coming in April of 2021, per DJ Folk.
It was only a matter of time before Williamson launched his first signature shoe with Jordan. Like, of course this is happening. He signed an $85 million deal. That’s not the interesting part.
The name is what catches me. In a more broad sense, I’m curious to see how they sell this. That’s the most important part.
The problem with being a Jordan athlete is that you’re always in MJ’s shadow. It sounds counterintuitive, but being a successful Jordan Brand athlete means constantly trying to separate yourself from the rest of the brand. It’s weird.
You do that through your play on the court, mostly. But you also do it by naming. You do it by aesthetic. No Jordan athlete has been able to crack that code just yet. Jordan Brand hasn’t found that “next Jordan.”
And the thing about that is that it’s not the athlete’s fault — they’re great. But Jordan Brand constantly sells, well, Michael Jordan. And nothing else.
But the Z Code sounds unique and definitely not boring like the Jordan Melo or the Jordan CP3. It immediately sounded to me like a product independent of Jordan. This could’ve been anything.
But I’m also worried that it might sound a little too arbitrary. Like, the Z Code? What is that, an MTV reality show? Does anyone actually call Zion that? Didn’t think so.
Beyond that, if it looks like a space combat boot like another shoe line from another NBA All-Time great, that name ain’t gonna matter one bit. No one will buy it.
At the end of the day it’s Zion and Zion is incredibly popular and marketable. This should be a slam dunk. But…it’s not an NBA player dunk — probably a bit closer to an early high school player dunk.
Like, yes. You can reach the rim. You can dunk. But there’s a solid chance you might get hung and break your hand. We just have to wait and see.
However, I will say, If these are the vibes? While Zion is in New Orleans? I’m rolling.
Speaking of Jordan Brand…the Jordan 35 is here
I’m not really sure how I feel about this one, y’all. Jordan really made a solid turn at the 31 when it was reimagining early models into modern designs. They’ve fallen a bit off track sense. Some good shoes have come and gone, but they’ve been mostly average at best.
The official images from a Fragment x Jordan AJ35 have been released with the shoe scheduled to drop in October and, uh, I’m just not sure where they were going with this one.
I want to like it. I really do. It looks sort of like a fusion between the 34, the 13 and the 12 with some crazy Zoom tech in it. But I don’t know. It’s just not growing on me yet.
Seeing it in the wild may help, but this just seems like another moment of struggle for a Jordan Brand that has struggled to get people to buy anything outside of retros. We’ll see if this one hits. My guess? Probably not. Hope I’m wrong.
The Air Cubones
I know some of y’all be stanning Yeezy like crazy and everything. I respect it and I respect what Kanye West has done to advance the sneaker game.
But, family. Y’all cannot like this Yeezy slide. I mean, it just isn’t possible. What is this????
Yo, why does this joint look like a missing fossil piece in the Animal Crossing museum? Like, what? What are we doing here? I’m confused.
Somebody on Twitter said this joint looks like the skull on Cubone’s head and I absolutely lost it. That is hilarious. Y’all are pretty funny.
Anyway, please don’t wear this. Ever. For your own sake.
What’s droppin’, bruh?
Nike ISPA Overreact — Thursday, September 10
Nike Dunk Low “Community Garden” — Thursday, September 10
Air Jordan 1 Zoom “Crater” — Friday, September 11
Jordan 5 “Oregon” — Saturday, September 12
Casablanca x New Balance 327 " — Saturday, September 12
Thank y’all so much for rocking with the boy today! I really appreciate you for giving me the time. Hope you have a fantastic Labor Day and a fantastic work week!
We’ll do another giveaway soon! We’re almost at 2,000 strong, so let’s get this thing poppin’. More details to come!
As always, family. Peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯