Everyone loves a good collaboration. It may be Kanye West and Jay-Z coming together for a dope album like Watch The Throne, or Jeff Staple and Shake Shack coming together for a delicious dessert, but whenever two or more influencers come together and collaborate, usually something dope comes out of it.
However, we’re not talking about rap albums or desserts today. We’re talking about shoe collaborations, and how they’ve flooded the market. It seems like every which way you turn there’s a new one dropping, be it a new Burn Rubber x New Balance, or something from Nike SB and pretty much any skateshop anywhere in the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I love collabs. As someone who’s a huge fan of Ronnie Fieg and Kith, I have to. It just feels like the market is vastly oversaturated with options. Collabs a few years back used to be highly exclusive, and now it seems like they can be found anywhere.
I for one am in full support of the growth of the sneaker game. I think it ensures that future generations will be doing what we do 20-30 years from now. However, I don’t like how mainstream (I hate to sound like a hipster, but there’s really no better way to describe it) most have become.
It takes away what made them special: that they were highly limited and you had to know your stuff to get your hands on a pair. We won’t be seeing anything like the Pigeon Dunks or Ronnie Fieg’s Salmon Toe Asics anytime soon.
Although the sneaker game needs to grow and expand, collabs could use a rest. I for one would be in favor of them being released much more sparsely, so the excitement level around them is higher. Although change is inevitable and welcomed, that’s one thing that I wish would have stayed the same!
-RDwyer
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