2013 was an eventful year unlike any other – Justin Bieber was living it up in brothels, Miley started twerking, Ye had mans telling Papi behind the counter at the bodega to “Hurry up with my damn croissants,” and to top it off Frozen came out and people just couldn’t let it go (pun intended).
I mean shit, the best things we got out of 2013 were Bob’s Burgers, the Pharrell & Daft Punk collab, and listening to Kendrick bug out on “Control.”
But hey, you know who this is, and what I usually write about so that intro was cute and all but let’s talk about what caught sneakerheads’ attention in 2013 – the “YeKnits.”
While I hate to stoop so low and call them out by name just because Mr.West chose to make them an icon of sorts – these shits got more clout than me and that’s what they’re known as.
The 2013 Flyknits
Dubbed the “YeKnits” by fans, the Nike Flyknit+ trainer rose to popularity in early 2013 after being released in mid 2012, because Ye rocked ’em in the streets of London.
Originally seen as a running shoe with little popularity, even with its London Olympics origin, Ye’s co-sign changed that, and started a new trend.
From then on it was no strange sight to see the rapper with a basic tee, stacked Kanye x A.P.C jeans, and flyknits. And just like that, a sprinkle of clout had these sneakers on the shelves of flightclub for $500 and up.
Well, the “Black/White” Nike Flyknit+ trainer, re-releases today, five years after its initial run. And if you didn’t cop back then I hope you got lucky today because there is little to no difference between the OG and the 2017 pair.
The 2017 Flyknits
The difference, while quite small and easily unnoticed by an untrained eye, is the color of the collar on the sock lining in the shoe.
The OG had black and the 2017 pair has white. Now, this could be done by Nike not only to allow customers to differentiate the pairs but to keep resale in line.
The real question is, will the 2017 pair garner as much resale value as its predecessor? I think not but let me know y’all thoughts in the comments or pull up to the communities.
No brand is going to dethrone the king, Nike. At least not yet. They’ve dominated the game literally my entire life. If you didn’t have Nikes growing up, you just couldn’t be wavy but that thought is beginning to change.
Nowadays we are really pushing the idea of individuality and being different so people are leaving their Nikes behind for something new. As the people leave the Swoosh behind, they are picking up the three stripes for a new look.
Adidas knows this and are capitalizing on it. With campaigns like “Create Positivity” or “Sports Need Creators” they are pushing for uniqueness.
Their latest campaign for “Originals Is Never Finished,” is by far the wildest. Just take a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkdsGeJxDcA
Clearly Adidas had money to just throw after they’ve been killin’ it but who thought this was a good idea? Maybe this is the future but i don’t know bro, this is just freaky.
Let’s not focus on the video itself so much but rather who’s in it. Their partners are the future of both Adidas and fashion.
As Nike has all the greatest stars in sports like LeBron, Serena, and Ronaldo; Adidas is going for a new wave of influencers that we see in the video above.
Cultural figures like Kendall, Carti, The Beard and Thugger are changing the fashion world by signing with Adidas and there’s no doubt we will see the brand continue to grow.
If you think that’s all who Adidas has on the squad let me show you what else Adidas got with them. These are some of their biggest collabs yet.
We can’t leave Kanye out of a list of Adidas partnerships… it’s Kanye.
Many people were skeptical when he first announced he would join Adidas but the work he has done with his Yeezy brand there has been nothing short of amazing.
The work Simons and Adidas have made together has been just pure gold. These sneakers are highly sought after with big resale prices.
They really are crafting sneakers for the future.
Of course, there are plenty of other Adidas collaborators we didn’t mention, like Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto, but the fact remains that Adidas has a bright future ahead of them.
They may just become the brand of the future one day and eventually dethrone Nike.
What are these colors though? The first one is just belugas again. The second one is probably the best and that’s saying something because it’s not that great. I got no comment on the yellow… SMH
The new V2 is coming in what people are calling “Red Night.” Keeping the zebra type print all over, it’s filled in with the colors Red Night, Chalk Purple, Chalk Pink.
We did see a lot of these colors during Kanye’s Yeezy Season 5, especially with the Calabasas logo. These V2’s do seem very plausible.
But as with any Yeezy release, expect these to be hard to cop, but obviously that goes without saying. It’s hard to tell how resale will look on these as stock plays a big part.
Either way it’s worth a shot. Yeezys are Yeezys.
It’s a solid colorway but Kanye, where is the love for 750’s or even a new design?
Yeezy Mafia has been spot on with leaks so it’s hard not to believe what they tweet but a leak is still a leak so take these with a grain of salt.
Nike has been the unrivaled sneaker king for as long as we can remember. With brands like Jordan and Converse it’s hard to compete.
But recently, Adidas has really stepped up their game with their Stan Smiths, Ultra Boosts, and NMD’s.
Adidas has even picked up major designers like Kanye West and Yohji Yamamoto, along with various others.
Pharrell was added to this roster back in 2014 but didn’t release the now-legendary NMD Human Race until recently. The cheapest one of these is going for around $700.
Pharrell has now created the Adidas Tennis Hu that released in a white and green color back in May.
Now Adidas and Pharrell are bringing us an entirely new colorway with a pastel blue, pink, and green. They are releasing alongside Stan Smiths of the same color.
Here’s just a taste of what’s to come:
AdidasAdidasAdidas
You can pick up these packs on August 10th.
From his time at BBC, to his various collabs, this isn’t even close to the first time Pharrell has been involved with the fashion world.
Pharrell has no doubt shaken up fashion with his unique style.
Let’s peep some of Skateboard P’s other sneakers just to celebrate the release of these Tennis Hu.
Nike x Pharrell 2005
Serving as part of a Nike artist campaign in 2005, Pharrell kept the colorway nice and simple with subtle touches to help keep the shoe timeless.
With the N*E*R*D* logo stamped on the heel people will instantly know what you got.
BAPE x Pharrell 2006
pisschild.bigcartel.com
Pharrell and BAPE have a long history mainly due to the fact that his longtime friend Nigo created the brand.
These came in crazy metallic colors that really stand out. These wild colors have become a sort of Pharrell trademark.
There comes a time in every sneakerhead’s life where you wake up on release day with that overwhelming feeling.
You look to your collection and go to retrieve the cause of that feeling. You grab it with both hands and breathe… do you feel that big fella? It’s a feeling we all dread … Issa L.
Don’t check your snap cause you know your mans copped and then you wouldn’t just have an L on your plate but an additional serving of salt.
Don’t tap your pockets cause the resale money won’t be there, don’t even walk past the mirror dawgs cause Khaled going be there to let you know you played yourself B.
The L, once just the 12th letter of the alphabet, has taken on a new meaning in today’s culture. A loss, a failure, a relationship with Blac Chyna, and other personal defeats, have become synonymous with an “L.”
In the sneaker culture you take “L’s” when you wake up on any hyped release date and try to cop online, when you didn’t know about the app, when you get cart robbed on yeezysupply, when you are a victim to reseller and their loop gang, and the worst of all, when you tried to cop from Kith.
However, no matter the cause of the “L” it’s still an L and we must hold it.
Now, to all my readers who’ve experienced that feeling cut the Jay-Z album for a min put on some Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth and let’s reminisce.
These are the top 10 hardest cops of 2017:
10. Royal 1’s (if you ain’t get this you lazy fam because there was an abundance)
For the majority of my life, all I knew was Nike. All gym shoes were Nikes, and as a son of an immigrant, receiving Nike’s, regardless of the price or style, was a moment of joy for me.
As I got older, I remembered stints where K-Swiss, Reebok classics, and even New Balance made their appearances as moments of acceptable shoes to wear, but, again, it always came back to the swoosh.
Present day 2017 and all I’m seeing is Adidas. Cold ones, too.
As opposed to Air Force 1’s, Nike SB’s, Air Max and Presto’s. I’m turning my head to Adidas Boost Adidas Ultras, Adidas Stans Smith, the Superstars and, of course, Yeezy’s.
And it’s more than just a trend, these shoes are really comfortable and stylish.
That’s when I got to thinking to myself… is Adidas gaining on Nike?
Adidas was underperforming Nike in the key U.S. sportswear market as recent as 2015. And in 2016, Nike controlled just over half of that market.
Yet, despite Nike’s clear dominance in 2016, Adidas sales in the North American market jumped 23%, following double-digit gains in the first quarter and for the full fiscal 2015 year.
Classics like the Superstars and Stan Smiths helped the boom and those like it have helped Adidas regain ground against Nike in the US market. Adidas more than doubled its share of the US athletic footwear market to 10% in January last year. A jump that it too substantial to ignore.
Just as my eyes were noticing, Adidas was making a splash.
Fast forward to 2017 and Adidas not only has closed the gap but has an extended year-to-date lead over Nike, which is hovering near a 10-year high. Adidas is as popular now than it’s ever been.
Leo Mandella
A big help has been the partnerships Adidas has paired with as well.
Adidas has landed the NBA’s James Harden, the NFL’s Von Miller and baseball’s Kris Bryant, who all dominant in their sports. Which is a move they had to make to compete with the likes of Nike’s line-up of star-studded athletes which include LeBron James, Serena Williams and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Under Armour who has Steph Curry, Misty Copeland and Bryce Harper.
But you cannot credit the brand’s success without, if even reluctantly, pointing towards one of it’s biggest partners in Kanye West.
When the two announced a partnership in 2013 many hoad no clue what the unpredictable hot head creative in Kanye would bring t the table. But Adidas has benefitted from that roll of the dice.
In a sit down with StockX (the world’s first sneaker stock market), footwear retail expert Neil Schartz attributes the success of the Adidas partnership with Kanye West as part of the strides the brand has made, noting the fact that Kim Kardashian’s 80 million+ Instagram followers and that his ability to market to millennials has caused a resurgence that has worked well for both parties.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ9aIPQFnmR/
In 2012 — the year before the Kanye West announcement — Adidas raked in an impressive $14.883 billion in sales with a 47% gross margin. By the end of 2015, Adidas had hauled in a mind-boggling $16.915 billion projecting a gross margin of 48% (+1%) — that’s 2 billion dollars in added revenue since Kanye’s partnership.
But even more than having Yeezus as an indirect brand ambassador, the old fashioned way of just putting out better product has helped the brand immensely.
New additions, such as the NMD have helped propel sales in ways the company wasn’t even prepared for. The company literally couldn’t make enough of the Boost soles it uses on the NMD and other models to keep up with demand.
Selongkar Stories
What Adidas found in the solution to the NMD delima actually became one of the main strategies that gave the company a competitive advantage in the U.S market and specifically against Nike.
In efforts to keep up with the dwindling resources, Adidas sought out new programs to speed up supply. And in their findings, Adidas said it was able to cut production from a 12-18 months process to a staggering two months production time for 80% of its apparel in the fall/winter 2017 season.
That’s thanks to investments in projects such as factories in Germany and the US that allowed it to get top-selling items on shelves much faster than manufacturing in Asia (where Adidas still makes most of its goods) and shipping them in.
The strategy is exactly the same as the one that has made fast-fashion retailers Zara and H&M so successful: allowing Adidas to make less product up front, and to quickly replenish items that are selling well.
So, is Adidas making a challenge to the throne? Eh, we should hold the horses.
Air Jordan Space Jam 11’s, the classic Converse (owned by Nike) Chuck Taylor All-Star Lows and the Air Force 1’s and other various Nike running shoes all made the list, but no other Adidas shoe made an appearance.
Matt Powell is a sports industry analyst at The NPD Group and makes an annual list that tracks units sold. While ot does not show how profitable the shoes were for Nike and Adidas, it nonetheless serves as an example of what’s happening in the increasingly competitive battle for sneaker and sportswear dominance.
It also shows that Nike is reigning supreme, despite its competitor’s gains.
Nike reported $14.8 billion in total North American sales last year, compared with $3.7 billion for Adidas.
Business Insider
So as the king continues to reign — for now.
Nike’s signing of Lebron to a lifetime deal was more than a showing of good faith to its partner, it revealed the company’s uncertainty of landing similar talent in the future. Who knows what the value of the brand will be after he retires and is out of the public spotlight, which may give room for another superstar to take his place and to sign with… Adidas perhaps.
Who knows what the value of the brand will be after he retires and is out of the public spotlight, which may give room for another superstar to take his place and to sign with… Adidas perhaps.
Regardless of who’s atop, the new Adidas campaign is refreshing and the shoes are comfortable as hell. Only time will tell if that gap narrows.
It’s that time of year again. Kanye West is teasing yet another hunk of overpriced fabric designed to nestle your feet above the cold, frigid pavement while simultaneously shattering your bank account into a million pieces.
The only difference between his latest upcoming offering and the Powerphase Calabasas he debuted back in March is that the internet doesn’t seem to be as obsessed with these.
Why? Well, the answer to that is quite simple. Kanye’s new Yeezy 6 running shoe looks like a sneaker factory had a severe allergic reaction and threw up sneaker materials all over the place. They also look like a fake pair of Reeboks from decades ago.
The kicks were prematurely unveiled on the Internet after a photo of them hit Instagram and racked up nearly 10,000 likes in under an hour — and not for a good reason, either.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUxm9fsjrSe/
Another photo of Kanye wearing the unreleased Yeezy 6 kicks also hit the interwebs, prompting brutally honest reviews of them — because they aren’t lit.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUxmyDHDMNy/
As a matter of fact, people are certain they are the complete opposite of “lit.” On one hip-hop website, a commenter referred to them as the “Sex Offender 8s.” Ouch.
HotNewHipHop
So, where’s the proof that most people think the new Yeezys are pure trash? Just scroll through your Twitter feed, my friend.
I’m sure Kanye wasn’t anticipating this response when designing his new Yeezy runner…
Them new Yeeboks are the Team Jordan's of the Yeezy brand 😂😂😂
Not only is KITH owner Ronny Fieg known for offering his loyal customers a quality retail experience in the heart of New York City, but also for his must-have brand collaborations in the sneaker world.
Let’s just say sneakerheads have no problem staying up late into the wee hours of the night staring at their Twitter timelines just waiting for the 35-year-old street style visionary to drop some fire.
Just a couple of days ago, Fieg did just that after taking to social media to unveil his latest collab with Adidas for the KITH Cobras and KITH Flamingos soccer teams.
Yeah, KITH actually has its own soccer team, but what else did you expect from a brand with its own cereal bar just a few feet from where you can cop a fly fit? I rest my case.
The KITH x Adidas Cobra collection features not one, not two, but SIX new kicks: the Copa Mundial Tango Turf Trainer ($140), the Copa Mundial 17 Ultra Boost ($220), the Copa Mundial 17 Cleat ($300), the ACE Tango 17.1 Purecontrol Turf Trainer ($160), the ACE 16+ Purecontrol Ultra Boost ($220) and the ACE 17+ Cleat ($300).
Now, keep in mind, there are a few actual soccer cleats in this collection. So, if you’re a soccer player, those might come in handy. If you’re not, maybe you’ll fuck with the Tango trainers or the 17 Ultra Boosts.
KITH x Adidas Copa Mundial 17 Ultra Boost – $220
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUvMXSpgWXm/
KITH x Adidas Copa Mundial Tango Turf Trainer – $140
KITH x Adidas ACE 16+ Purecontrol Ultra Boost – $220
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUwuXyBAlx-/
At this point, I know what you’re thinking — when and where can you cop any one of these? That new-new will be available for purchase on Friday, June 2nd at KITH stores and KITH’s online store.
If you aren’t lucky enough to snag your favorite pair before they sell out, you can also sign up to win a pair via raffle here.
