Fashion’s Golden Opportunity in Team USA’s World Cup Moment

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Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving me a bit of your time. Happy Fourth of July weekend to the US folks celebrating out there. Hopefully, you’re finding a way to stay cool. It’s a blistering 102 degrees here in D.C. as I’m writing this. The “feels like” temperature is 110. But you can best believe those fireworks will still be going off around the city this weekend.

In today’s newsletter, we talk about the moment bubbling up at the World Cup with Team USA as it continues its deepest run since its quarterfinals appearance in 2002. I certainly didn’t have this team making it this far — especially not as dominantly as it has. People are already celebrating. The real question is: Can fashion join the party?

Plus, Nike’s earnings call this week revealed a bit about its strategy for Converse going forward. The brand will lean into the old styles like the Chuck Taylor that have always worked for it. Is that the right direction to go? I’m unsure. But at least it’s a direction.

Quick hits:

• Chanel is acquiring Charvet. Here’s BoF’s Robert Williams explaining the move.
• BoF’s Haley Crawford did an excellent job breaking down why fashion is bringing Hollywood executives into the fold to help with marketing. Movie lovers, you’ll love this.
• The Spring/Summer 2027 New York Fashion Week schedule is here, folks. Jessica Kwon has deets.

Let’s get to it.

Team USA’s Moment

The US men’s national team made a bit of history on Wednesday night when it beat Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance to the round of 16 in the World Cup. It now faces Belgium on July 7.

• It’s the first time the USMNT has made it beyond the first round of the knockout stages since 2002, when it advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Germany.

The mood: The team hasn’t really accomplished much of anything serious just yet. There’s honestly a strong chance that the run doesn’t amount to very much. Still, it’s very clear that fans are desperate to be a part of this team’s moment no matter where this road leads. The demand for USMNT jerseys has been off the charts.

• Most retailers are either sold out or have limited sizing left following a restock ahead of the team’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• The team has sold twice as many jerseys as it did during the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, a federation spokesperson told The New York Times.

Part of that is general football fever. Nike had sold a little more than double the amount of national team kits by the start of the tournament as it did for the 2022 World Cup, a spokesperson told me. But it goes beyond just the team kits. The federation dropped an “11x11” collection in collaboration with several streetwear brands located in World Cup host cities across the US. Most of that is already sold out, too.

Why that matters: There’s clear excitement here. People are doing their best to make sure they’re part of this moment. That excitement will only grow should the team continue to advance, and that growth will create yet another window of opportunity for fashion.

The intrigue: The Knicks fever from last month could serve as a blueprint for what could happen here with the USMNT. People were willing to do whatever it took to get in on that craze, from buying bootleg tees off the street to spending tens of thousands of dollars on game tickets. It was all about the experience and the camaraderie it came with.

I’m not saying that we’re about to experience Knicks fever again through US men’s football, lest I jinx the team as its run continues. But the parallels are hard to avoid. The Knicks overcame a 53-year NBA championship drought with a team that nobody believed in until they actually pulled off their win. The US men’s football team has literally never won a World Cup. This team wasn’t even the favourite to win its group. Now, some are openly wondering if this is the best US men’s national team of all time.

It’s still a longshot that the US makes it to the finals, let alone wins the whole thing. But the excitement is only growing as the team keeps advancing, except it’s not just New York this time — it’s bigger than that. It’s in this moment that brands should be preparing themselves.

It’s sports! You never know what might happen.

Converse’s Future Lies in Its Past

Investors have been hoping for a clearer picture from Nike about the future of Converse for months as the company continues down the long road of its comeback. Those questions got fresh urgency a few weeks ago when Nike plucked NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Converse and added the star player to its own basketball roster. After the company’s latest earnings, we finally have some more information.

What’s they’re saying: While we don’t have an exact roadmap for what things might look like moving forward, Nike chief executive Elliott Hill revealed the thinking behind the company’s move as it looks to “sharpen” Converse’s strategy.

“[Converse is] getting clearer on the role it plays within Nike, Inc. and where it will grow, especially with the Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell franchises,” Hill said on the company’s earnings call. “This move allows Converse to fully focus on serving creators through its lifestyle business. That clarity matters.”

Translation: Hill didn’t go into deep detail there, but it’s clear that Nike believes moving SGA to Nike was as much about simplifying Converse’s role as it was adding more star power to Nike’s basketball roster. The brand will use its creatives to boost its classic styles.

• We’re already seeing that happen. Tyler, the Creator just wore an upcoming collaboration on the Converse Pro Leather.

Yes, but: I think it’s worth asking if this is the right strategy here. I do think simplifying Converse’s role and focusing on a handful of things that work is a good play. But Nike just spent years cleaning up its inventory to bring more newness and innovation to the table for the consumer.

I’m sceptical that reversing course on that with Converse is the right play. The Chuck Taylor and styles like it have worked well in the past, but they aren’t a snug fit for this moment.

More is coming: This isn’t the extent of Nike’s Converse plan. Further information will be revealed at the company’s investor days on Nov. 16 and 17. We’ll see if things add up a bit more then.

Sneaker Legal Corner

There was motion on two interesting legal cases in the sneaker world on Thursday.

First: Nike is being sued by 7-Eleven for an Air Max 95 colourway that the convenience store chain claims uses its “Tri-Color Mark” of red, green and orange. 7-Eleven says the colour is “confusingly similar” to the store’s own pattern and was not used with the store’s permission.

This Air Max 95 colourway is similar to a Japan-exclusive 7-Eleven-themed pair of Nike Dunks that was designed for the 2020 Olympics but ended up being cancelled.

• My take: I have no idea if these shoes were, indeed, designed with 7-Eleven in mind. But I love it when brands push the boundaries like this. This is what made the mid-2000s Nike SB era so legendary. It’s like the Heineken Dunks all over again. I miss that edginess in sneakers.

Second: Following up on a story from earlier this year, Adidas’ lawsuit against sneaker leaker website Sole Retriever, in which Adidas accused the company of stealing confidential information and extortion, has been dropped with prejudice, bringing the case to a close for good.

There wasn’t much motion with the case once it was opened. Adidas filed its complaint in March, and the case ended up dismissed by June. There was no discovery and we never heard Sole Retriever’s side of the story. I reached out for comment, but have yet to hear back from the company.

Regardless, this one is over. And I’m sure they’re glad about it.

The Pacers Get Creative

The NBA’s Indiana Pacers announced a new multi-year partnership with creative director and designer Jas Bell to make him the team’s global design and product director.

His background:

• Bell has previously worked with artists like SZA on merchandise and brand collaborations.
• He’s also spearheaded designs and products for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, including its Stranger Things collaboration.

His role: Instead of just collaborating with the Pacers organisation occasionally, Bell will now lead the team on merchandising. We’re talking designs, collaborations, the works.

One thing that I’m hoping to see more of as sports and fashion collide is teams and leagues adding more stylists and creative directors to their staff. We see it occasionally in big ways — think Kyle Smith over at the NFL or Domo Wells with the Washington Spirit and, now, the NWSL at large. But there’s still a lot of room for growth.

It’s good to see Indiana taking a step in the right direction here.

#TheKicksWeWear

This is the community section of the newsletter where you (Yes, you!!!!) send me your best fits and kicks from the week. Feel free to send submissions to michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message via social channels @MikeDSykes

First, the homie Bun came out in these clean Velvet AJ12. Really nice colourway. Love the material swap.

Then the homie Yammy came through with these AJ1 lows. Justice for the Jordan 1 lows. They get a lot of undeserved hate in these streets.

Then the homie Rohan took us home with these Patta Cryoshots. My guy knew the assignment with the World Cup.

Y’all did that. Good stuff, gang.

Thanks for reading, gang!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, reach out to me via email at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me a message @MikeDSykes via socials.

Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.

-Sykes 💯