As seen on Unboxed Issue 49. The Unboxed newsletter covers the most important stories of the week across sneakers, sports, and fashion straight to your inbox on Mondays.
This past weekend, social media celebrated the birthday of Beyoncé. She is an undisputed icon in almost every facet, but her foray into the sneaker world through her partnership with adidas in recent years is not as easily defined. In a time where a sneaker’s measure of success is how quickly it sold out and its dollar value on the aftermarket, it’s easy to overlook the other measures of success of a product.
adidas x IVY PARK doesn’t appeal to conventional footwear and streetwear aficionados, but nothing about Beyoncé is conventional, and perhaps that’s the point. While her starpower is undeniable and her impact on music, entertainment, and culture as a whole is highly influential, I would argue that her fashion influence is not as much of a priority for her team. Beyoncé defies the constructs of fashion and sneakers, and instead carries over her fanbase into adidas consumers, not because of the clothes but because of her brand alongside grand influencer unboxings with A-list celebrities. We often forget that sneakers are still a subculture, and that “sneakerheads” only make up a small percentage of footwear industry sales. Beyoncé isn’t fighting for Travis Scott’s spot – she’s creating her own.
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