The Russ Report: Cool Stories, Sneaker Brands

Sneakers used to have genuine histories behind them but brands have highjacked storytelling to new heights just to sell shoes.

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Complex Original

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It happens nearly every week: an e-mail arrives touting an upcoming retro release, and inevitably there is a backstory—some inspiration described in loving detail—that has absolutely nothing to do with the sneaker itself.

In some cases there is an entire mythos built up around it, whether it’s through packaging or apparel or a release event. And in most cases it’s the equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster, utilizing heroic means to bring something to life that should have never lived. This is inevitable, I suppose—it’s what happens when a silhouette that was originally released in three or four colorways in a year comes back in 27 different ones in a month.



companies began to think of new stories to weave around old models.


Here’s how it used to work: A sneaker released, a pro athlete performed feats in it, kids wanted the sneaker because of its association with said feats. That’s it. Converse Dr. Js were sought-after because they were worn by Dr. J. Even the first Air Jordan, which had a marketing campaign like no sneaker before it, gained much of its pre-release anticipation due to Michael Jordan wearing it during an otherworldly rookie season. Had MJ flopped, no amount of Chiat-Day magic could have saved the shoe.

And Nike may have gone down with it.

Over the years things changed, with Nike leading the way. Bringing on Spike Lee and his Mars Blackmon character to lead the charge on the Air Jordan III campaign following the underwhelming response to the Italian-made Air Jordan II was huge. Still though, there was an awful lot left behind the curtain. Hardly anyone outside of Beaverton knew who Tinker Hatfield was, but seemingly everyone in the world watched 1988’s NBA All-Star Weekend.

Mars Blackmon’s rhetorical “IS IT THE SHOES?” was just telling you something you already knew. By the time Penny Hardaway came around in the ‘90s, though, the fictional pitchman eclipsed the player. Penny’s sneakers wound up having a better—and longer—career than he did.

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Then the advent of retro sneakers changed everything again. Re-releasing old designs and selling them purely off the strength of the original athletes/campaigns wasn’t always going to work. So companies began to think of new stories to weave around old models, whether said stories had anything to do with the sneaker (or athlete) or not. Sometimes they did — like Reebok’s LSU-themed Shaq Attaq or Nike’s series of Grand Slam-inspired Tech Challenge IIs.

Other times, not so much. The most egregious examples of this have been running shoes, especially when done up in food themes. Maybe it’s supposed to be ironic? A lot of the time it winds up being an elaborate story told via a shoe that had nothing to do with said story in the first place. Maybe the creative process is a little like this: “Hm, I like grilled cheese and I like the Saucony Shadow 6000—SOMEONE GET ME A PHONE!”

At this point the stories have become an integral part of releases, especially in a world where every model is introduced long before they hit store shelves. They’re here to stay. In the case of the Air Max Zero, a “new” model that released last week, a story BECAME a sneaker. And when there are literally dozens of releases every weekend, every brand and every retailer feels the need to strive to do more and more to stand out. Hey, here’s a thought: Do less.

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