As seen on Unboxed Issue 53. The Unboxed newsletter covers the most important stories of the week across sneakers, sports, and fashion straight to your inbox on Mondays.
I don’t remember a time when this many brands were winning at once. Everyone from the big legacy companies to smaller niche ones seem to have momentum right now. And one of those legacy brands that is undoubtedly winning is adidas. They’ve been on a nonstop streak pretty much since Kanye West started rocking with them. But despite all of the energy and quality products, why do so many of their biggest stars prefer bootleg Nike products over the Three Stripes? I don’t want to dry snitch on anyone but just take a look at the routine tunnel fit pics or your Instagram feed and you’ll see adi endorsers rocking everything from bootleg Air Jordan 1s to Nike-inspired Bapes. While this might feel like a clever workaround to contractual rules, it’s clear that many stars still feel drawn to Nike products.
Listen, I get it. You can’t replace iconic silhouettes like the AF1, AJ1 and Dunk, but it’s not like adidas is lacking in quality designs at the moment. Just look at the never ending assortment of Yeezys or even the recent energy of the Forum, which is adidas’ best answer to the retro 80s basketball trend. The go-to workaround for non-Nike players used to be luxury sneakers, but now it looks like fake Nikes are an option too. I get players doing this when signed to overseas brands with less off-the-court options, but it’s odd to see at a time when adidas is hotter than ever. I put the responsibility for this on the brand side more than the athletes. While the blame for this falls on both the athletes and brands, I think the solution is on brand reps to curate products that their players want to wear off the court, too.
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