If you are reading this, you probably have better knowledge of the resell market and have the same hunch regarding the supply and demand of sneakers these days. What we are about to discuss today is related to giant brands such as Nike and Adidas, killing the exclusivity of their cash cows. Please note that this is just a perspective of the situation in its entirety.
We recall back to the Boost days back in 2015 when the Turtle Dove 350’s dropped and Adidas was just starting to push their Boost technology using the Ultra Boost and NMD silhouette. Boost tech was instantly adopted as it set a benchmark in terms of comfort; introducing technology commonly used in other industries into mass-produced footwear really upped their sales. As we entered 2016, Adidas went on a sneaker release spree, milking every single drop of profit on their new technology and silhouettes which eventually flooded the sneaker scene with their NMDs and Ultra Boosts, not forgetting the reiterations of the silhouettes to keep things ‘interesting’, or at least that was what was implicated. Adidas even butchered the exclusivity of their limited Boost line; the Yeezys by Kanye West with their many colorways and restocks eventually oversaturated the scene, driving sneakerheads to empty their bank accounts all in the name of adding that one more colorway to their collection. However, we cannot really blame Adidas for overproducing the Yeezys as Kanye West gave a fair ‘promise’ saying that, ‘Eventually everybody who wants to get Yeezys, will get Yeezys’.
Enough about Adidas killing the dreams of Hypebeast trying to ‘over-flex’ their so-called limited sneakers which were once cool. Another brand that we (or at least myself) expect to oversell their highly-sought after silhouettes are Nike and Jordan Brand. If you haven’t realized, Nike is re-releasing their big guns from Air Max collaborations, Air Force 1s, and more while Jordan Brand is releasing a new colorway for their Air Jordan 1 silhouette almost every week such as the 6 Rings pack, the different iterations of colorways using the Shattered Backboard (SBB) color blocking concept and even colorways that ride on the hype of rare pairs such as the Game Royals, having the same shade of blue with the Fragment 1’s for consumers to custom if they are not willing to submit to the resell prices for an original pair.
Every sneakerhead that was on the Boost bandwagon (if you were) moved over to the Nike bandwagon after catching wind of what a game-changer Nike’s ‘The Ten’ collection was. Virgil redefined the aesthetics of Nike and Jordan silhouettes that relate strongly with this new generation of sneakerheads which opened another door of opportunity for Nike to further milk their consumer’s bank accounts. Due to overwhelming demand, the Swoosh has been releasing different colorways of the silhouettes from the Off-White collaboration previously at high frequencies within months. The Off-White x Nike Vapormax has already been released in three colorways, three different pairs of Off-White x Air Jordan 1 have dropped with only one or two months gap between each release. Another two colorways are being anticipated for the Prestos and four different colorways of the Blazers have already surfaced. At the rate Nike is releasing all of these ‘hype’ pairs, we believe the overproduction of these pairs in the market will only dilute its significance and exclusivity, which is something Nike could leverage on in the case that Adidas tries to take a bite of the market share, with their forward-looking Futurecraft technology.
However, Jordan Brand can’t really be put at fault for re-releasing their highly-sought after pairs as every sneakerhead knows Jordan Brand’s pattern where OG colorways are bound to get a re-release eventually. As for Nike, this market ‘takeover’ tactic is definitely effective currently, but in the long run, Nike will run out of cards to play, but we all know that Nike always has their tricks up their sleeves in case of a rainy day. Adidas has been quiet recently after their cash cows are done being squeezed dry, and sneakerheads are just awaiting their next move, anticipating the rise of Futurecraft technology and new designs along with it.
What we may pick out of this opinion piece is that everyone wants what they can’t have, but when everyone can, nobody cares for the sneaker because they want to ‘stand out’, ‘be different’ or remain exclusive. The consumers or self-proclaimed ‘sneakerheads’ (at least in Malaysia) are desperately trying to keep on the hype bandwagon, feeding these giant brands to continue their ‘marketing plan’, failing to realize that the real significance behind sneaker collecting is having knowledge about your sneakers, knowing what’s rare and not what’s more expensive, and lastly, understanding that a collection is not based on quantity, but quality.
To all the real sneaker collectors out there, kudos for staying real despite all the temptations of hype. However, for all the Hypebeast and especially the ones that are just getting into the scene, remember not to be a sheep and not to look like every other average ‘Hype’ joe out there. Some may beg to differ, but as stated earlier, this is just a perspective of the situation where giant brands milk their cash cows, and our roles that have contributed to the butchering of our favorite brand, collaboration, and silhouette.
