So the most modern non-beater sneaker I do is the Jordan 5. When I first saw these Cosmuc Unity 3s they reminded me of Mary Poppins’ carpet bag. Now I’m thinking of getting them in the sale. Can’t work out if I just find them interesting as a sneakerhead (v Worherspoon 97 and really well made) or if I like them to actually wear. Anyone else feel this about a sneaker you admire but isn’t your normal style?
I think it’s also worth noting that like… Performance shoes very often eventually become lifestyle shoes, given time and cultural osmosis. All the OG Jordans were performance shoes. The Adidas Superstar was a performance shoe, the shelltoe was literally a tech feature. New Balance 990s were performance shoes. If you can name just about any legendary sneaker that’s more than 20 years old it was probably a performance shoe when it debuted. Even Converse Chuck Taylors were performance shoes once upon a time.
20 years from now it’s very possible that like, Cosmic Unity 3s and Jordan Deltas will be the “hype retros.”
Maybe it’s just me but I hope hype retros become a smaller part of the industry as a whole, and brands focus more on innovation. The reason those shoes you mentioned became cultural phenomena is because they represented the peak of their respective times. Everyone had or wanted them. If you look back at photos of those eras you see those shoes. If in 30 years you look back at photos of this era it will all be retro something. Not too many cosmic unity or alphafly unfortunately.