A few things I'd like to respond to:
Re: quality going down - I was simply pointing out that from a business perspective Adidas, Reebok and Nike are all pretty much on the same page regarding quality. The use of premium leathers has gone dramatically down for numerous reasons, some of which I highlighted above. The fact that old and new JB heads wear the sneakers casually rather than for sport is one contributing factor to a decline in quality materials, but not necessarily the leading one.
Re: NT and hypocrisy - I tend to think people in general overstate their opinions and many of those who are outspoken are often the same people copping for keeps or more often to resell at a profit.
Resellers feed the problem just as much as the hypebeasts.
Re: XIs becoming a staple sneaker -
Do you really think that's happening or will be happening? Seems hyperbolic to me. Concords haven't had a GR in a decade, and as I pointed out, since 1994 when retros began, they have averaged every 6 years per colorway. Very few colorways are retroing outside of the CDP series more than every 6 years. This isn't a new trend, nor something I think people should be concerned with. I think some people worry too much about things like this.
Re: The Hype - You mention, "Whatever happened to getting that one pair a year right around Christmas, back when the Christmas Js weren't just another BapeXSidekickXCrew campout affair?" Isn't it pretty self explanatory what happened? The Air Jordan line was in progress back then. The Air Jordan line is over now (people can call the 2011's and whatever else part of that same line,
but they ended for me with the XIV's, certainly with the XVII's). One pair a year is a thing of the past. Many of us also didn't get the other colorways of a given model, further reason why the onslaught of retro releases grabs people so strongly. You may have had the Concords, but did you have the Space Jams and BReds too? I was out of the scene for the better part of the decade, and I still have only participated in a couple of campout/long-line scenes in the past few years, but anytime there's a public "event" for any cultural/community-backed product, service, etc... you see the scenesters come out and parade around like douchebags, usually in the 15-19 year old demographic. I hate to bring in class factors here, but you have immature rich kids and immature poor kids who don't get out that much acting like idiots at these sorta campouts.
I guess I haven't paid too much attention to the idiots who caress, lick and worship some sneakers, but I'm aware these kind of tools are out there. If you're familiar with tumblr and follow people who are into Jordan photography, you'll see ridiculous stuff like this from time to time. I take it with a grain of salt. The Internet brings out the lowest common denominator more often than not, but I don't necessarily see those fringe elements as indicative of the people I know who are part of the community. The Internet amplifies the hype and amplifies all the negatives. In fact, I'd argue the Internet as a whole is largely based around criticism and negative feedback.
I do agree that the Internet age makes the knowledge and hype surrounding sneakers - and a host of other markets - much more pronounced today than in 1994 or 2001 or even 2006. As a professional who makes his living off the Internet, I appreciate it's capabilities but acknowledge the decay it's created in cultural norms and values.
I think people need to focus less on the downfall of a brand that is still $1B a year with a 70%+ market share for basketball shoes, and realize that the United States culture and productivity is going down the crapper. You can look around and see it in a lot more than just Jordans or hypebeasts.
Just my thoughts on things. Not saying I'm the only one with proper opinions on this topic, but there are some very slanted opinions in this thread (least probably being your's kingk777).
Trappedintime, I appreciate the sound and knowledgable response. You continue to add valuable insight to this post, shedding light on issues that I have not even yet considered.
It is true that all of the "major" sneaker companies have let their quality-game slip over time. We witnessed such a boom in the 90s, with seemingly EVERY major ball player dropping sig sneakers on EVERY major brand...with companies actually...INNOVATING AND DRIVING EACH OTHER TO PERFORM...that it's hard to swallow the bleak leathers being fed to a Finishline near you. Maybe what we saw was once in a life time...
Resellers feed the problem as much as hype beasts. You're exactly right. I can't knock somebody for trying to make money (if, sadly, that's the only way they can scrape a few bucks together), but I CAN, and WILL knock somebody for hyping up the official release posts just so they can make some money...or man, DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CONCORD THREAD AND CERTAIN DUDES IN THERE.
But you're right, resellers feed on high school kids' insecurity. If they think they can "get shorty" with a pair of Denim 3's...and the store doesn't have any Denim 3's left...of course they're going to pay 2X retail for the kicks. It's disgusting to me, because back in the day the store would still have plenty of Denim 3's left. (And they likely will when/if they drop...because those kicks are
) But you see what I mean.
On Jordan Brand ending after the XIV: Again, you're right. Jordan brand was still up and running back in the day. They were indeed still a sneaker company, as opposed to "lifestyle brand" or whatever the heck people label it now. I wish I could write more right now, but I have to leave for dinner in 3 minutes.
What struck me most about your post though was the fact that JB (or Nike...not sure which one you were referencing) still is a 1Billion$ company with a 70% market share in the industry. They have indeed done great things and deserve all due respect and profit, as they are indeed the greatest sneaker company in the world. It would be time better spent talking about American production and culture. People are zonked out in front of the TV buying up whatever MTV tells them and throwing their paychecks down the drain straight to China, while dudes like Air Randy are jerking their kids out of their credit-card money and laughing.
But I can't really do much about all that at this moment...so I stick to talking JB and trying to make some headway there.
