What makes a sneaker collaboration “great” in 2024?
Brand collaborations may have been going on well before the 2000’s, but it wasn’t until Jeff Staple of Reed Space releasing a highly coveted Nike SB Dunk Low in a grey-scale colorblocking that nearly set off riots in New York City’s Lower East side that brand collaborations really began to come up more frequently. Retailers like Kith, Bodega, and END Clothing, brands like UNDERCOVER, Mastermind, and Bape, and artists like Futura, KAWS, and Stash collaborate with brands to produce sneakers, apparel, and accessories that are made in limited production numbers.
The key word is limited production numbers. The brands themselves do make money from collaborations, but it won’t generate as much revenue as, let’s say, the latest pair of running shoes offered by the brand. So why do brands even collaborate with retailers, luxury brands, and artists?
Lately, a new collaboration drops seemingly every week for every major sneaker brand. It’s become less organic and risk-taking and more of a formality. The journey can be summed up like this:
Once you’ve gained some cultural clout on social media with the average sneakerhead, you’re destined for a collaboration with someone to help express your design chops with an entity that is slightly larger than your own. Climbing to the top of the collaboration ladder (aka Nike and adidas) means paying your dues with smaller brand collaborations and proving you resonate with the general sneaker audience by selling through your collaboration anywhere the sneaker sells.
Basically, a sneaker collaboration seems inevitable for any major retail brand, luxury brand, or artist brand (this is definitely a thing) with any presence online. Which means there are good collaborations and bad ones.
Long-winded intro now complete, let’s dive into the steps in determining what makes a sneaker collaboration “good”.
DISCLAIMER: This is 100% my opinion, not backed by any sort of data or additional research. Although the price of resale weighs heavily into how a collaboration is viewed, resale price is merely informative and not declarative of how good a sneaker collaboration is.
Step 1: What story is the brand attempting to tell?
This is the first step and is key to being able to evaulate the collaboration at all. Two brands coming together to create something together should tell some kind of story, whether personal or related to the brand itself. Whether it’s a specific moment, inspiration from the archives, a collective social experience, or even an attempt to expose a struggle or narrative, brands are standing together to put forth a joint message through their design and creative works.
A great example of great story telling is the recent Air Jordan 1 Low “Rookie Card” that the son of Michael Jordan, Marcus, released through his retail store Trophy Room. From the packaging meant to mimic the paper wrap of trading cards in the 1980s, to the colors of the insoles resembling the colors of rookie trading card, down to even a “Home” and an “Away” variation, the details are intricate and well-thought out and well-executed. Even the used of the first signature Air Jordan model adds additional flavor to an already packed collaboration.
However, if a collaboration bears no message, no story, heck not even an inspiration behind the design, there’s no way that the collaboration was a meaningful one for the collaborator. With zero resonance with the creator, there’s zero resonance with the intended audience, and therefore a flop.
Take for example the Billie Eillish Nike collaboration. I won’t say much else, just look it up for yourself and tell me what story this collaboration aims to tell.
Step 2: How well did they execute on the vision behind the story of the shoe?
Execution seems to be confused with how many extras the two brands provide alongside the sneaker. Or if there’s a special box being used. But execution is how well everything ties together. Is the vision stated in the details of the sneaker? How do the accessories add to telling the story? Is there even a special box packaging these sneakers?
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Picking what colors and materials are used to create a sneaker is just one piece of the collaboration. When the collaborator puts time and effort into the packaging and design of the accessories, it adds a huge amount of additional value to the collaboration. This is where quality is definitely greater than quantity, and the choices that are made can help aide in following the story being told through the collaboration.
Step 3: How relevant was the model of sneaker to the story and execution?
Sometimes brands are releasing a new model, and use the energy of a collaboration to boost interest. In these cases, the collaborator may be a bit more creative or selective in the story they decide to tell. But when the collaborator is allowed to choose what model to use, there’s greater meaning in their choices and how their vision is executed. Pulling sneakers from the archives and creating new silhouettes or executing a particular design in a slightly different manner adds relevancy to the story and can bring back greater nostalgia.
In those situations where brands are tapping collaborators to bring energy to a new model, they’ll find ways to tell a story by weaving in details through embroidery or premium material choices instead that either pay homage to the brand’s history or through an archival deepcut that the new sneaker model drew inspiration from.
There are layers of details that a collaborator can delve into, whether it’s a retro model or a new model, that takes their collaboration to another level. It’s just a matter of how much time and energy they put into each and every detail, and all it takes is a curious mind to discover and appreciate it all.
Step 4: How relatable is the story to the general population? Can it be appreciated by the masses or only by the select few?
We can put much less weight into the answer of this question. Although you may not have any first-hand experience with the story or idea the collaborator is telling, there are certain thoughts that can be empathized with, but if you don’t relate fully to the story being told, there’s still space for you to enjoy and appreciate the work and effort put into the design of the shoe.
The last thing you want to do is be totally ignorant to the message the collaborator is trying to express. Just be mindful, that’s all.
Step 5: How difficult was it to purchase?
This is probably the least important factor, but it could also have the greatest effect on how a collaboration is enjoyed. For example, if the sneaker was based on something specific to a region and the shoe only released at local sneaker shops, then it makes sense. But when it’s a collaboration that is limited for no other reason than to simply be difficult to procure, it can have a negative impact on how a collaboration or a collaborator is viewed.
To be clear, a limited production run for a collaboration is expected. They are special make-ups that may require a different manufacturing process, sourcing more expensive or difficult to procure materials, in addition to any special boxes or accessories that are packaged together with the shoes before shipment.
But if there are too many hoops, too few shops, too many pairs backdoored, there’s just no way we can view that collaboration as favorably as others.
At the end of the day, there is no “best way” to enjoy a sneaker. Some enjoy them by simply collecting anything they can get their hands on. Some enjoy sneakers by wearing them as often as possible. And others still enjoy just browsing and keeping up with the latest news. However it is that you enjoy sneakers, I’m really just glad to have you here.
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