How did the sneaker market get to this:
From this:
Yes, it started with Nike.
Not the Jordan's. The Nike Roshe Run's.
The Roshe Run shoe utilized a fully woven upper and lightweight foam sole. These shoes sold out as soon as they hit retailers on release day. One of the release colorways was the "Iguana" colorway seen below. The resale market went crazy. The shoes retailed for $70. They sold for $300+ on the secondary markets. Months later, a wave of restocks hit retailers, as Nike continued to capitalize on the success. More and more colorways and revisions of the design have been pushed out to this day. Design elements and materials have been adopted into other Nike designs. To this day, we've seen all sorts of colorways and revisions. It is clear Nike hasn't duplicated this level of success and innovation in the market.
The minimalist, elegant, high-tech adoption of a sneaker with a slick silhouette was born.
At the same time, Adidas was struggling to maintain its grips on the market. Nike was dominating with its Lebron line, the Roshe and Jordan brand. Adidas was trying to get its hands on the same market that Nike dominated but lacked a staple design.
Suddenly, news came about that Nike lead designers left the company to join the Adidas team. They cited Nike for stifling creativity. Nike filed a $10 million dollar lawsuit against the designers for stealing trade secrets.
Shortly afterward, Adidas released sneakers based on Boost technology. Boost was a squooshy, lightweight material. The shoe designs that utilized technology built on the blueprint of the Roshe. The shoes were minimalistic in design, lightweight, comfortable and featured a textile upper. Improving on it, the designs emphasized an extension of the wearer's clothes. The shoes were understated and sleek.
The Adidas Ultraboost was the first manifestation of this idea. The shoe retailed for upwards of $270. It had limited production and the company released small quantities in sporadic bursts.
Also the NMD along with all its variations which retailed for $70-130.
And of course, the Yeezy line, which I'm sure you've all heard of one way or another:
I could go on about the textile and midsole technology adapted, but that's a story for another day.
I just wanted to point out the innovation and bringing about of fresh ideas to draw parallels between the success of the Adidas and cryptocurrencys. Throwing away chains that hold back fresh ideas. An Adidas take-over happened in a shoe market dominated by Nike. Let's look forward for what cryptos have in-store for us.
