The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 261 — ✅ Proof of concept
Nike has a chance to win over metaverse skeptics with this new sneaker.
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me today.
Brittney Griner is free. Big shouts to that. You absolutely love to see it. Wishing all the peace in the world to her and her family.
Let’s jump in.
CryptoKicks in real life — literally
The moment everyone has been waiting for when it comes to the metaverse’s integration into the sneaker world has finally arrived.
The big deal: RTFKT and Nike are dropping CryptoKicks in real life. That’s…actually what they’re called. Well, technically, it’s CryptoKicks iRL. But you get the point. These are actual, physical shoes based on RTFKT’s virtual footwear design.
The brand revealed the sneaker and followed up with some subsequent details surrounding them. There are 19,000 of these pairs in all. Holders of RTFKT’s Lace Engine NFT are being granted special access from December 7th to the 9th.
The specs are interesting.
The shoe is a self-lacing model like the Air Mag and Adapt BB. It features customizable lights, wireless charging and comes with its own app.
The shoe comes with an NFC chip that can be read for proof of authenticity, which is a huge appeal here. This makes ownership trackable.
Owners will also be able to participate in “iRL quests” RTFKT sets up to encourage what they call “networking with peers.” No idea what that looks like or entails but in a Twitter space on Thursday RTFKT said they’d look to set up around two quests per year.
Why it matters: This is fascinating mostly because it’s the first shoe to be transformed from an NFT into something physical that can be owned, which has been the biggest roadblock when it comes to Web3 in the sneaker world. Being a sneakerhead is all about owning a physical object. What’s the point when there actually is no physical object? This project flips that question on its head.
This will likely determine the shape of Nike’s future when it comes to the metaverse.
This is an opportunity for the brand to prove that this has appeal to mainstream consumers. They have to show it’s not just some gimmick or a cash grab like — frankly — so many other big brand metaverse projects have been. These sneakers have to show us utility.
Will this work out? I honestly have no idea.
No one in my circle has talked about it — even the firmest believers in Web3 seem disinterested. That’s not a great sign.
If we’re talking about utility, the NFC chip and the quests have potential value. Other than that? This is just a $600+ shoe. That’s…not very appealing.
But time will tell how this ends. Either this is the next Adapt BB and it’ll be dead in 6 months or it’s something far, far greater than that. We’ll see.
The Kyrie era is over
Nike has officially cut ties with Kyrie Irving. The brand announced on Monday that they’d be going their separate ways.
That doesn’t come as a surprise at all considering Phil Knight said the brand probably wouldn’t work with him again.
It also feels like something we’ve been slowly moving toward for a while following Irving’s displeasure with the Kyrie 8.
What’s next: Nike already has signature athletes waiting to take Irving’s former slot. Devin Booker and Ja Morant are reportedly slated to join the brand’s signature athlete roster, per ESPN’s Nick DePaula.
Irving seems ready to move on, too. He taped over the Nike swooshes on the Kyrie 3 and wrote “I AM FREE” and “Logo here” in place of it.
The big picture: Logo here, indeed. The question is whether anyone is actually willing to put a logo there now. That’s not as easy as you think it is.
Set aside all of Irving’s antics over the last 3 years off of the court. He’s 30 years old and moving into the back half of his prime.
He’s also got an injury history in the NBA, which is something brands do their best to shy away from.
This isn’t me saying Irving won’t find another suitor. It’s just not as open and shut as it once was. He’s too exciting of a basketball player and too big of a name for it not to. He’s also been largely apologetic for his behavior last month. Someone will probably bite.
Just don’t expect it anytime soon.
Y’all really love them Crocs, huh?
Crocs just keep growing, man. I truly do not know what is wrong with y’all.
Today’s news: According to a poll from the Morning Consult, Crocs was the 2nd fastest growing brand of 2022.
Morning Consult measured this by their own “growth score” metric, which measures the growth in purchase consideration by consumers for 2022.
This means that there was a massive increase in consumers who considered purchasing Crocs in 2022.
Most of that is coming outside of Gen Z consumers because Gen Z consumers were already hooked on that Crocotic.
What this means: Crocs’ growth as a brand already reached heights no one thought we’d see a decade ago. If you thought it would slow down (like I did) you were absolutely wrong. The brand is drawing in older consumers now, too.
The numbers back it up: Last month Crocs reported a 57% spike in revenue year over year during its 3rd quarter earnings call. It pulled in a whopping $985 million. That’s insane, y’all.
For reference, in 2015 that number was $274 million.
The bottom line: I say all this to say expect a big 2023 from Crocs. They’re not stopping — much to my chagrin.
They’re thumbs on feet, man. I’m sorry.
My lobster revelation
Concepts’ Orange Lobster dunk drop is the first drop in a while that’s had me like “yo, what in the hell am I doing?”
The raffle was botted into oblivion. And the special box pair cost nearly FO HUNNIT DOLLARS. FO HUNNIT. Nah. Ima just keep my money at that point, y’all. They must not have wanted it.
To make myself feel better I’ve decided to just roast Concepts and these sneakers.
That Lobster phone on the box looks dumb. I know, I know. It’s art. But it looks dumb.
Don’t nobody want no damn Bearbricks anyway. Y’all upcharging for a glorified hypebeast paperweight? H8 2 C IT. I know inflation is crazy right now but damn.
That’s why the Rafflecopter wheel is still spinning.
Also…hot take…the Crushed Dunk was better.
Alright. That feels better. Muuuuch better.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW THE VIBRATIONS LET’S GOOOOOOO
First the homie Dandin got us poppin’ with the Concord SB Dunks. Classic joints, as always, from my guy.
The homie JR popped out in the Kasina Air Max 1s and these joints are feeling super underrated right now.
The homie Ricky popped out in the community garden Dunk lows from 2020 and MAN these joints are amazing every time I see em.
The homie Candace popped out in the Goretex AJ1s and they make for such a perfect shoe.
The homie Dellan popped out in the Pride Air Max 90s for BG. It’s backwards, y’all. She’s home.
The homie Geoff came through in the JFG 993s and y’all already know the vibes with these.
Then the homie JD sent us home with the Trophy Room 7s and, boy I look stupid in 7s, but I HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED.
Y’ALL SMOKED IT. SHEESH.
Thank you so much for rocking with me fam! Appreciate y’all. Dropping the KYW End of Year Mailbag next week along with the gift guide! Lots of fun content coming. Can’t wait to share with y’all.
Till then. Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
Yoo the roast of the Concepts was hilarious...we need a regular "Sykes roasts the overrated joints" segment