As a sneaker connaisseur, every year I wait for what cool tributes brands will create for the upcoming fashion seasons. When 2015’s Blach History Month collections started to unveil, the designs were noticeably a lot more thought out and doper than those in recent history. The marketing also was a lot more in your face than in previous years as well. In the past, Nike’s Black History Month collection was something only true sneaker heads cared about. Now, the drop was more mainstream than ever. General releases, emails to Nike subscribers, full front page tabs on the website, and much more. Marketing really had done a great job in making sure EVERYONE knew about the Black History Month collection? Which made Hip Hop My Way’s creative director, a fellow Nike head, question why? Why now? Why this year? Why make what’s usually a quick-strike drop, a general release drop? For devout sneaker heads like myself, the Black History Month collection was something exclusive to our culture that we always looked forward to. We knew the proceeds went to charities supporting African American causes and communities but something was off about this year. It’s no secret that race has been a big subject of turmoil for the latter end of 2014.
HHMW asks are Nike and Adidas supporting the buying community that has so strongly supported them over the years? Or are the sneaker labels exploiting the buying community that has so strongly supported them over the years? What do you think?
