Why Converse’s Future Is Now an Even Bigger Question

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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.

Today, we dive into Nike’s decision to pluck Converse’s best asset away from it. The speculation about the brand’s future is at an all-time high.

Quick hits:

• Tennis star Katie Boulter announced a new deal with Wonderskin just in time for Wimbledon. I love a good active beauty partnership. I’d love to see more of these across sports.
• Here’s a bit more detail on Onitsuka Tiger’s move upmarket. This is such a smart play from Asics.
• Look, y’all! It’s me! Hahaha. Seriously, it was very cool to be on this panel on building lasting communities through TikTok. Loved this conversation. Hope you’ll give the piece a read.
• Usually don’t include these here, but I thought this editorial from the Virgil Abloh Archive about the inspirations for its X2 collection with Nike was a fantastic read. You should check it out if you have the chance.

Let’s get to it.

What’s Going on With Converse?

Nike’s portfolio of signature athletes just got a bit more crowded. The brand announced on Tuesday that NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is joining its roster after spending the last six years at Converse, where he launched his first signature shoe. Nike owns Converse, of course, having bought it back in 2003.

• Background: Gilgeous-Alexander has been a Nike athlete before. He left the brand for Converse in 2020, and in 2024 reportedly signed a deal that paid him $15 million annually to be creative director of Converse basketball. He helped design and launch his first signature shoe, the Shai 001, in autumn 2025.

Why this matters: The narrative around Converse over the last year has been filled with strife. The brand has been in steep decline since its 2023 fiscal year. In Nike’s most recent earnings, the company reported Converse’s quarterly revenue dipped by 35 percent year over year to $264 million, its lowest point in 15 years.

The one thing the brand was able to write home about has been the momentum generated by the Shai 001. That’s gone now.

Between the lines: Questions are bubbling up again about what the future of Converse might be after this. Rumours about Nike potentially selling off its subsidiary have been swirling for months, including some sparked by financial firms like BNP Paribas. Those rumours are back now with a vengeance.

These are reasonable conclusions for people to come to, considering the circumstances and the moves made behind the scenes. Nike cut Converse’s demand creation budget — which is the company’s marketing spend — by 44 percent down to $24 million.

What they’re saying: Despite the speculation, Nike has maintained that it’s still confident in Converse and looking to turn the brand around. Chief executive Elliott Hill has championed the brand as one of Nike’s priorities.

“Converse will remain an important part of the Nike, Inc. family, and we are excited about its long-term prospects,” Hill said on the company’s latest earnings call. I spoke with insiders at Nike that maintain that this hasn’t changed despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s move.

The intrigue: It isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary for Nike to shift stars around.

• Athletes like Dwyane Wade once went from Converse to Jordan Brand. Jayson Tatum went from Nike to Jordan Brand.
• This even applies to cultural stars. Drake shifted from Jordan Brand to Nike, where he launched his NOCTA sub-label.

But what makes these circumstances notable is Converse’s current condition. It’s hard to imagine what the brand’s turnaround plan could be when it seemed like Gilgeous-Alexander’s star power was part of it. I spoke with Simeon Siegel, a senior analyst and managing director at Guggenheim, about why the scepticism about Nike’s plans with Converse continue to persist. I thought he put it perfectly here:

“The hardest part should be getting a star to sign, then creating the brand, product and storytelling around them,” he said. “It’s hard to write a narrative that giving up your star player is a move of strength.”

Yes, but: In our conversation, Siegel also pointed out that this is a very different thing than Gilgeous-Alexander leaving the brand. He’s still under the Nike umbrella, which means he’ll now get more resources, marketing dollars and design options that will make his brand stronger. Ultimately that’s good for the entire company — even if it does leave Converse in an awkward spot.

The big picture: Nike insists that it’s all in on keeping the brand as part of the wider company’s future. The public remains sceptical.

Nike reports fourth quarter earnings on June 30. It’s also hosting an investor day in the fall. By the end of all that, we’ll know what’s what.

Vans’ Bread and Butter

A key aspect of any brand’s comeback is to have a product that just seems to work. In the early 2020s, that was the Dunk and Jordan 1 for Nike. Today, that’s still the Samba for Adidas (though that well seems to be drying up a bit!).

For Vans, the Old Skool 36 seems to be building itself to that point.

By the numbers: Secondary market platform StockX shared new key sales data on emerging trends and styles in streetwear and footwear. One of the biggest movers on the platform seems to be Vans’ Old Skool 36 silhouette.

• Sales on StockX for the model surged by 800 percent during the company’s second quarter, according to the data.
• The average price for the Old Skool rose by 40 percent year over year on the platform.

These numbers indicate some clear momentum for the model.

Yes, but: Some of this momentum is actually translating into positive movement for the company in its anticipated comeback. Overall, its sales declined by 1 percent, but they grew by five percent in the Americas, which signaled the company’s first growth in 14 quarters. It’s a small, but noticeable, sign that its plan to recapture its cool is working.

Nike’s Caitlin Clark Shoe Is On the Way

After years of anticipation, the roadmap to the release of WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark’s signature shoe has finally been unveiled. The first look and all of the shoe’s details hit the internet on Wednesday. The brand also announced a release date of Oct. 1, 2026.

• The shoe, first unveiled in an inaugural blue colourway, will retail for $140 in North America and $135 everywhere else globally.
• It’ll also launch with an 18-piece apparel collection featuring the brand’s new AeroFit tech as well as Nike DriFit.

There’s been lots of reaction to this unveiling. It’s been pretty polarising to this point, with some calling the shoe another variation of a Kobe while others are excited about it.

The timeline: The biggest conversation around it has been how long it took to get here. Clark’s shoe is launching about two and a half years after she signed her latest Nike deal in April 2024. That’s pretty far behind a typical timeline for a sneaker launch, which usually falls within an 18-month window. Some have argued that’s far too long.

But I’ll push back against that. Sure, the wait is a bit longer. But this is an important launch for Nike to nail. Taking more time than usual to get it done isn’t an issue if the launch goes correctly. We saw the same elongated timeline with A’ja Wilson’s A’One sneaker and that turned out to be fine.

The big picture: What will matter in the end is whether this shoe resonates with people when it arrives. It probably will. This will be a huge hit with kids, simply because it’s Clark. That alone will likely be enough to carry this shoe to success.

The Best Fashion Moments From the Knicks Parade

I’d planned on coming in with my favourite fashion moment from the Knicks parade, which was honestly more like the biggest block party I’ve ever seen. But there were so many I couldn’t just pick one.

So I picked five to highlight here. Hope you guys agree!

The ranking:

1. Rama Duwaji’s Custom Knicks fit: New York’s First Lady wore a custom Knicks dress made by local designer, Claire Sullivan. What an incredible piece. This is the zenith of sports fandom and fashion.
2. Karl-Anthony Towns’ Fit: KAT is one of the best dressed players in the league, generally. But the Jeff Hamilton lambskin leather jacket is a flex — especially in 90 degree weather. That’s a crazy pull.
3. Timothee Chalamet’s Chrome Hearts Hoodie: I had to throw this one on the list simply because I’ve rarely seen Chrome Hearts be this bright before. I guess a Knicks championship will do that to you.
4. Jordyn Woods’ Lucky Bag: Woods by Jordan is doing numbers right now, thanks to her wearing what she called a “lucky bag” during the team’s finals run. Woods brought the bag to the parade, too, of course. It’s just as fly as it is lucky.
5. Jalen Brunson’s Siegelman Stable Hat: Brunson and a few other Knicks have been wearing the Siegelman brand all season long. In his final moment of the season, he wore a championship version. What a flex.

This was one of the flyest parades I’ve ever seen. I’ve got to tip my cap to you, New York. Y’all got it.

#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

The homie Geoff got us started with these protection pack 2002Rs from New Balance. Love this model.

The homie Erin popped out with a pair I hadn’t seen in a while. The Why Nots! These are Russell Westbrook’s signature Jordan sneakers.

We had a really cool submission today from Dana Juliana Palacio. She shared these custom Knicks kicks that she designed with me on Instagram. They were worn by none other than Knicks super-fan Ben Stiller courtside.

This is so cool, man. What a pull. I told y’all. Knicks fever is going to last for a while.

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 💯