Good morning, friends! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. I hope you had an excellent weekend.
It was a bit dreary with a lot of rain out here in the DMV. Fall is officially here, I guess. Time to swap out the shorts for sweats. These are sad days for your boy.
Anyway, enough rambling. Let’s jump in.
The Jellyfish Is Going Swimmingly
I thought the initial launch for Pharrell’s new Adidas Jellyfish sneaker was going to end up being a flash in the pan, following the initial orange and white pair’s release over the summer. Skateboard P and Adidas soft-launched the shoe at Paris Fashion Week in late June, ahead of its August release.
- The release came after initial rumours that the shoe wouldn’t be released until 2026, building a bit of extra hype for the bulky sneaker.
- When it launched, it sold out immediately. Prices on the resale market were three and four times what the $300 shoe retailed at.
My take: The hype of the fashion week reveal plus the limited nature of the drop drove the price up a bit. I figured that, when more colours come, the marketplace would cool off. Especially for a shoe that retails at such a high price.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
What’s new: Two more colourways of the Jellyfish were released over the weekend via Pharrell’s “Virginia” site, Adidas Confirmed app, and at various retailers. The same thing happened. The shoe sold out completely, which wasn’t unexpected. But the aftermarket prices didn’t budge at all.
- A quick check of StockX’s pages for both shoes shows they’re reselling for double, and sometimes triple, their retail prices at $300.
- When you venture into the larger sizes of the shoe and come through the data, sales prices can reach $1,000.
Between the lines: The secondary market has normalised since the early 2020s. We’re living in a time when there aren’t very many “white whale” sneaker launches that can fetch resellers two or three times the retail value on a single shoe. If you’re a buyer, you have a great chance of purchasing something at its retail price. And, in the event that you miss out, you can usually find it on the secondary market somewhere around that price.
But the Jellyfish is different. People are willing to pay exorbitant prices for this sneaker, on both the retail and resale sides. That doesn’t happen anymore. It’s extremely rare.
What that means: I said it last week when referencing UBS’s latest resale market data: The secondary market isn’t the end-all, be-all for any brand. This doesn’t directly impact Adidas’ bottom line.
But, at the same time, the Jellyfish is getting a 2018 peak-Yeezy response from consumers. That has to be considered a massive positive for Adidas.
Why that matters: Adidas has been searching for an anchor in North America since it cut ties with the Yeezy brand. It’s done well, with sales in the region increasing by 15 percent in the second quarter. But, with the Jellyfish, it’s possible that the brand may have found something that could potentially supercharge its numbers if it builds around it the right way.
The big picture: Plans with the Jellyfish aren’t done here. There are more colourways to come, plus Adidas has a takedown version of the shoe coming for the folks who might miss out.
With the way things are shaking out, it looks like this has the potential to turn into Adidas’ next big franchise.
On vs Hoka, again
Piper Sandler’s latest Teen Survey for Fall 2025 is out. And, while most might focus on Nike still holding steady as the most popular footwear (ahead of Adidas and New Balance) brand and clothing brand (ahead of Hollister and Brandy Melville), I was interested in a slightly smaller battle.
What’s new: On and Hoka have always been synonymous because of the timing that both caught fire. They’re the two poster-brands for the running wave from the pandemic.
For the last few years, Hoka has been the more popular brand between the two of them — particularly among teens. But, according to the latest survey, that’s no longer the case.
- On overtook Hoka as the more popular footwear brand for the first time in six survey reads.
- It’s all relative. On is in fourth place now and Hoka follows it in fifth. They’re behind Nike (1), Adidas (2) and New Balance (3).
We’re not talking about a giant leap here. There still isn’t a significant gap between the two brands. But we’ve been heading in this direction for a while.
The background: Hoka’s sales growth showed signs of slowing earlier this year. It bounced back with a 20 percent sales increase in July for the second quarter, but the brand still seems to have lost a bit of its luster with teens, according to this survey.
Meanwhile, On has been steadily trending upward. The brand’s buzzy collaboration with Zendaya continues to expand. There seems to be a bit more energy around the brand these days because of its partnerships. Though I must admit, the Burna Boy one is a head scratcher for me.
Regardless of what I think, though, what the brand is doing is working for the kids.
Why that matters: What teens think of a brand is important. They won’t necessarily have the direct impact on a brand’s bottom line that working adults do, but they’re still an important demographic.
- In order for any brand to properly shape its future, it needs to have a positive relationship with the consumers of the future. Those are the teens.
- Plus, teens are the ones shaping current trends via social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Right now, it seems, On is in the driver’s seat. At least when it comes to its race against Hoka, anyway.
Klutch Athletics Makes Its Move
Rich Paul has easily established himself as one of the premier agents in all of sports. Klutch Sports has expanded from being that one agency you know because LeBron James’ homie runs it to a legitimate powerhouse across multiple sports leagues.
Paul is trying to make that same transition within the fashion world through his Klutch Athletics brand. He’s hired a former Nike executive to help him do it.
The news: Scott Munson, the former vice president and general manager of Nike’s Asia, Pacific and Latin American Men’s business, is now the general manager at Klutch Athletics.
- Munson worked at Nike for 28 years before exiting his GM role in September.
- He also worked previously as the global vice president for men’s basketball and men’s soccer.
Between the lines: Klutch Athletics is a relatively new business in the sportswear world. It was launched in 2023 in partnership with New Balance and already has a handful of athletes in the professional and NIL spaces, including Chase Young and Will Anderson in the NFL.
Munson’s hire here feels like an indication that the brand wants to build on that foundation with its current athletes. It’s unclear what that might look like, considering the sports agent who founded the company is still its most recognisable face.
But that’s exactly why I don’t doubt things will work out one way or another. Rich Paul always seems to find a way.
NASCAR Enters The Fray
Today’s “Wow, we’re really doing this, huh?” partnership is between NASCAR and streetwear brand Anti-Social Social Club. Yes, really.
The timing: NASCAR and ASSC dropped an apparel line for the racing league’s playoff weekend. And, honestly, some of this stuff is pretty good. Not much of it has sold through. But still! It’s good.
I’m honestly not sure how many people know this actually exist.
- Be smart: This isn’t usually NASCAR’s bag. They’ve done fashion collabs with brands like Tilly’s and Hurley. You know — recognisable mall brands.
- But a streetwear brand like ASSC? That’s kind of out of nowhere.
This feels, to me, like we’re jumping the shark a little bit. But, hey! Maybe NASCAR is here for streetwear now and I’ve just been asleep at the wheel.
What’s Droppin, bruh?
This is a dedicated section detailing upcoming sneaker releases for the week, and sometimes other interesting drops I think you might care about.
Thanks for reading, gang! Hope you enjoyed the newsletter.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, reach out to me via email at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message @MikeDSykes via socials.
Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
