Good morning, friends! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate you giving me a bit of your time today. Congrats! We’ve made it to Friday.
If you haven’t checked out our Mike Amiri interview from Tuesday, you really should. I rarely pat myself on the back, but I think we gained some good perspective from the designer on fashion’s current obsession with sports.
I’d also encourage you to read my colleague Haley Crawford’s latest case study on fashion PR’s new playbook. Not really sports-related, but kind of sports-related in that a lot of the brands that you love (and that I write about!) are using these strategies to promote their business.
QUICK HITS:
Alright, let’s get down to business.
Bucking Tradition With the NHL
The NHL was the very last sports league in the world that I’d have ever expected to embrace fashion with open arms, but it seems that we’ve finally arrived at that point.
Tunnel walks are taking over the National Hockey League, folks.
What’s happening: Don’t look now, but the NHL’s players have been throwing fits so far this season — both good and bad — following the league relaxing its dress code over the summer.
- The backdrop: The NHL previously had a strict suit requirement for its players under its previous collective bargaining agreement. Under the new CBA negotiated over the summer, the league’s rules only require players to “dress in a manner that is consistent with contemporary fashion norms.”
What that means: With the relaxed rules, players have been able to dress more casually off the ice. They can finally mix and match different materials with their outfits and play with different brands. In other words, the NHL is finally catching up with its peers around the sports world.
What we’re seeing: We’ve seen teams and players welcome this new state of play.
The other side: While part of me loves seeing this embrace of fashion in the NHL, the other part of me wonders just how tight it’ll get.
The NHL is a league notoriously known for being stuck in its ways. That ranges from typically mundane things like the loosening of the dress code here to very serious matters like the league’s temporary Pride tape ban. This is not a league that easily embraces progress.
Between the lines: The league has had the opportunity to embrace fashion before and passed it up.
- Former NHL wing (and goon!) Sean Avery interned at Vogue in the summer of 2008, opening a door to a new world that the league had yet to experience.
- Avery wasn’t just one of the most fashionable stars in the NHL — he was one of the most fashionable in sports. His passion for it ran deep.
- But, while Avery took full advantage of his opportunity, the NHL didn’t back him in it. It also didn’t create any opportunities for itself either. The moment came and went.
So, considering that history, even with the reversal of the league’s dress code you have to wonder if we’ll ever get to the point where the league actually builds an infrastructure for this sort of thing.
Could we ever get to the point where the league hires its own version of someone like NFL Style Editor Kyle Smith? Will a team, itself, ever hire a stylist for its players? Do we see the NHL promoting its players and bringing them more opportunities to express themselves through fashion? I seriously have my doubts about those things.
Why that matters: Sports have become arguably the biggest stage for the fashion industry in 2025. We cover that here in this newsletter all the time. There are so many opportunities for mutual growth between the leagues, the players and the companies they work with. We’ve seen that growth manifest itself across the industry, with leagues like the Formula 1 Racing, the NFL and more expanding their fanbases through fashion.
The NHL has to continue to nurture its relationship with the fashion industry, lest it miss out on opportunities to grow its business in this new, buzzy space.
The bottom line: We shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. Any progress is good progress — even if it’s a tiny bit. There’s no question that the league is one step closer to the point of achieving those things. Time will tell how far it goes.
But this is unquestionably a great start.
Converse’s New Chuck Taylor
There isn’t a more classic piece of footwear in the marketplace than the Chuck Taylor. It’s the OG of OG basketball sneakers with its initial release dated back to 1917.
This week, that classic style got a bit of an upgrade.
What’s happening: Converse introduced its new “First String” line of Chucks on Thursday. As the brand continues to search for ways to reinvigorate its business, it’s revamping its most famous model.
- The First String Chuck Taylor is a premium remastering of the classic sneaker.
- It comes with a Vibram sole, Nike Air Zoom cushioning, thick laces, a molded rubber logo on the ankle and a range of premium materials for the upper, including canvas, leather and jacquard knit.
The other side: While this is certainly an upgrade in terms of materials, it also feels like a subtle subversion of the original Chuck Taylor in a certain sense.
- The Chuck has always been known for its simplicity and its accessibility. That’s what has made it so ubiquitous throughout its century of history.
This new “First String” version of it is clearly the opposite of that. It takes the model and turns it into something more upscale.
To be clear: That doesn’t make it a bad thing. Subversion can be good sometimes — especially when you’re a brand in desperate need of shaking things up. That’s where Converse is these days. The brand is in the midst of a sales slump and brought in a new CEO over the summer to try and reverse the course.
And, besides, this isn’t the first time Converse has remade its classics. The Chuck, specifically, has been updated and upgraded over and over again throughout the shoe’s long history.
The big picture: Upgrading the Chuck Taylor probably won’t be a fix all that solves all of Converse’s problems. It’s rare that one silhouette does that. But, if you’re someone who is hoping to see a Converse turnaround, this is something you should be encouraged by. The brand is trying things. Overall, I think that’s good.
The Sotheby’s for Hyped Stuff
StockX is turning into an auction house … kind of. The company just launched its own version of Sotheby’s with what it’s calling “StockX Auctions.” It announced the new platform on Wednesday.
How it works: The company is bringing rare memorabilia to its platform and allowing consumers to bid on it. The first auction launch included 28 rare items, ranging from Futura x Off-White Syracuse Dunks to the Nike Air Mags and more.
This system is a bit different from StockX’s traditional ask-and-bid model.
- StockX sourced and verified all 28 of the sneakers included in the initial auction.
- The auctions are timed for seven days, starting on Nov. 6 and ending on Nov. 13
- There’s no set asking price for the items listed. The price is buyer-driven and starts at $1. The prices for most of these items will likely jump up to thousands of dollars.
The why: Here’s where this gets interesting. I had a chat with StockX’s Drew Haines, the company’s senior director of the marketplace, about the introduction of Auctions and some of the targets the company had.
The company essentially wanted to open up an avenue for consignors to eventually be able to sell 1-of-1 memorabilia and merchandise with this. You know those headlines about the game-worn pairs of Jordans that sell for several millions of dollars at places like Sotheby’s? StockX wants that commerce and those moments, too.
Some of the biggest culturally relevant product — the ones that make the biggest headlines that people are most interested in transacting — these are things that are worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Haines said.
These auctions will happen regularly, Haines told me, and will eventually expand beyond sneakers. The company plans to collect items from consignors instead of sourcing them itself.
The big picture: This seems to be a major part of StockX’s future. There’s a lot the company can do with this, ranging from special auction partnerships with brands to celebrity closet sales and more.
Is StockX the next big auction house selling art and memorabilia worth millions of dollars? Probably not. But there’s a good chance it can become something similar for the folks in the streetwear and sportswear space that the company is in.
Dodgers Fans Keep Winning
If Dodgers fans weren’t satisfied with their favorite team stealing the World Series from the Toronto Blue Jays last week (and dancing on the team’s grave to the tunes of Kendrick Lamar), then they’ll be happy to know that there’s a bit of a sweetener coming.
What’s new: The Dodgers are — yet again — getting a collection coming from designer Takashi Murakami, celebrating the team’s World Series.
- The collection includes several t-shirts and hoodies from Fanatics with Murakami’s smiling flower design and “Dodgers” written in Japanese Katakana characters.
- The collection is set to release on Friday via the MLB’s online webstore, Fanatics, and Complex.
My take: Dodgers fans, y’all are spoiled. Not only do you get a championship, but you get a collection designed by one of the most famous artists in the world. Again.
- Murakami also designed a collection for the Dodgers and Cubs celebrating Major League Baseball’s Tokyo series earlier this year.
This may be my jealousy seeping through as a DC Sports fan, because all of my teams are in the dirt right now. But, boy, am I jealous. Thank goodness I don’t root for the Commanders. I wouldn’t be well if I did.
Congrats, I guess, though. Y’all deserve it. Shoutout to Shohei Ohtani.
#TheKicksWeWear
First, the homie Bax came through with the Concepts 1000s and MAN this is such a great shoe. I gotta wear mine more.
The homie Nando showed off his SB Jordan 4s. What a pair, man. What a pair.
Then the homie Tej came through in these lovely Air Max 90s. GREAT colourway. Love the creativity here.
The homie Mark came through with the Digitalis Purpurea 992s. This miiiiight be a Sneaker of the Year candidate, y’all.
Then the homie Kali Rhe sent us home with this AMAZING shot of the Social Status Penny 1s. I can’t explain to y’all how much I love this sneaker.
Y’all cooked. Good stuff, gang.
Thanks for reading, gang! Hope you enjoyed the newsletter.
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 💯