Are we in a "Post Sneaker World"?

two weeks ago I made a poll that asked do you think that sneaker sneaker culture is dying and I was shocked to see that over 63% of poll answers on YouTube and 55% on Instagram said that sneakers as a form of style are dying personally I love sneakers now it even credit sneakers as the initial Catalyst that got me deeper into fashion but I do think that there is an argument to be made that sneakers are dying and if dying is too serious or too dramatic or too clickbaity of a word to use then I think it's safe to say that there are some noticeable shifts taking place in the sneaker game right now for those of you who don't know me my name is Drew what a do it's nice to meet you let's talk sneakers those must be comfortable shoes I bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel a thing I wish I had shoes like that the first reason that I think sneakers are dying in some respects is that sneakers are no longer the symbols that they used to be whether you like it or not what we wear sends implicit messaging to the people that we interact with and sneakers over the last 20 years have been one of the major contemporary cultural signifiers but as of recent sneakers and sneaker culture have been appealing to less and less people this lack of appeal has led me to believe that there is a actual palpable shift taking place within the culture and more specifically there's a shift taking place in how we view sneakers as a symbol for style if I were to ask you to imagine what a really stylish cool fun outfit looks like would you include a pair of sneakers as a key element within that look some people in the back of their mind are saying absolutely I would include sneakers others aren't so sure and even more are saying absolutely not according to the small sample that I sourced from my polls the main impetus behind why sneakers are no longer the symbols that they used to be is there are so many other models of Footwear that have gained popularity from loafers to mules to Derbies to Flats Mary Janes and Boots the rising cultural significance of these items continues to eat away at sneakers demand as a product of Footwear these items are taking that Focus away from sneakers and from sneaker culture the thing about fashion though is that it's hard to concretely exemplify that this shift is taking place where you live what you like and what you see greatly influences your opinion about what's happening within the culture scape at large but from where I'm standing or sitting my point of view is that there is definitely this shift taking place amongst young people Millennials gen Z older Generations everyone is kind of collectively moving away from just putting sneakers or having sneakers as being the Pinnacle of Footwear for deciding how they want to wear shoes or deciding what they want to wear for their [Music] shoes the second reason that sneakers are falling off a bit is because of the proliferation of bootlegs fake goods and replicas going back to this idea that what we wear serves as a form of symbolism for the people that we interact with as humans we don't like when trusted symbols become harder to identify due to the fact that an illegitimate Source tries to capitalize on what is popular in layman's terms we want the real deal reps have truly had an irrevocable effect on sneakers and the sneaker game at whole for example if you wear something like a pair of off-white UNCC ones more people will believe or will be led to believe that that pair of shoes that you're wearing are fake as opposed to believing that they're the real deal that's how much reps have kind of just ruined certain models and there are a ton of sneakers like this sneakers where because the replicas are so good and because there's so many and there's so much money to be made for selling this commodity that people have replicated it so well that it's hard to distinguish between what's real and what's not and in reality a lot a lot of people have gone out and bought the replica sneaker for whatever it is because they want to be a part of this culture a part of this group a part of the symbolism that signifies whatever it signifies to them whether it's wealth or coolness or style but I think in 2024 those symbols are just not what they used to be something that I wrote down that I want to Keen in on is that reps have always been around but in the past they were poorly executed now in 2024 reps are unidentifiable from the real thing a lot of the times you still have some bad reps out there but a lot of times they're very very good which I think is a huge huge problem for sneakers and the sneaker industry when you can't tell the real products from the fake products it truly makes the goods being sold less [Music] appealing the final reason that sneaker cultures and sneakers are dying is that the entire indust became more about garnering resale prices and creating shoes that have great resale as opposed to telling awesome stories and having an awesome product one of the worst things that happened to sneaker culture were the Travis Scott Nike collaborations and I'm sorry if you love these collaborations but I view these collaborations as the Turning Point the downfall of current sneaker culture this series of sneakers has absolutely no storytelling and nothing about it grips the community other than the fact that you know that these shoes are going to sell out and you know that they're going to Garner High resale prices in some respects this outcome feels a bit inevitable when it comes to sneakers and sneaker culture the entire model of the industry is scarcity and supply and demand and companies want their products to have high demand they want their products to sell out if they're spending money on researching developing creating collaborating on shoes they would want them to sell out but what that turns into is that people only buy the shoes so that they can invest in a product that has an appreciating value that they can then sell on the resale market and I still think that even though there are so many shoe releases and there's so many shoes coming out that that's what a lot of people think about when they think about sneakers there's not this like Rich story or Rich connection with designers and and products and and and all the things that go into making a product that make it kind of interesting in my opinion that just isn't taking place in sneakers as much right it is but it isn't it depends on which brands we're talking about there are some brands that do a fantastic there's some collections there's some collaborations there's some things that do a fantastic job of honoring storytelling and craftsmanship and uh just have high levels of Entry I also think that going back to models like like the Travis Scott Nikes and those kind of collaborations for a lot of people they consider these shoes to be the Pinnacle they consider these shoes to be their grils and I think that's also another aspect that really hurts sneaker culture and has hurt it moving further into the 2020s is that these shoes while they do look cool they are Innovative they are interesting for them to be the Pinnacle for them to be the best of what sneaker culture has to offer I think it just shows how things have gone a bit astray when it comes to creating meaningful product with good storytelling and creating product that resonates more deeply as opposed to trying to get the most money you can out of a potential drop which is I feel like what the motivation is for a lot of the Travis Scott collaborations and of course money is the motivation for every fashion label every brand but for whatever reason the way sneakers is going about it is having a lessening or less resonance or lesser a less thereof at least it's it's not resonating with as many people as it used to that's what I'm trying to say now before I end this video I think it's important to say that sneakers Aren't Dead They're Not Dead by any means at all if you look literally right here you see that I have a pair of Jordan 1es hanging down from my wall because I think Jordan 1es are an awesome pair of sneakers I love Jordan 1es they're a classic pair of sneakers but I think that even for me the way I think about sneakers now is that they're part of the outfit they're not not the entire outfit and I think for sneakers and sneaker culture at one point they were the outfit you know what I mean they were everything that you needed to like look good but I think the standards of style have gotten a little bit higher as well the purpose of this video and pretty much all the videos I make is to generate conversation around ideas and topics do you think that sneakers are dying or do you think that sneaker culture is listening tell me why you either agree or disagree down in the comments the word or the phrasing dying is a bit dramatic I understand that that's the point of social media that's the Forum that we're on if I were to say are sneakers becoming less cool you probably wouldn't click on this video that's just the way things work you need something that grabs people's attention so if you know that hold back your anger of saying oh what is this guy talking about they're not dying dying is such a dramatic yes I get dying is a dramatic word I understand that but I want to know what you think do you think the sneaker game is changing do you think the way people perceive interact and use sneakers is changing I want to know about all that more and if you want so we can make a follow-up video based on your comments if there's something that I see that a lot of people are kind of honing in on but as always I'm spreading peace love and positivity in 2024 so that means I'm spreading peace love and positivity to you and more wherever you are in the world wherever you are in the world all the corners of the globe I'm I'm thinking about Kazakhstan I'm thinking about turkey I'm thinking about all the countries that I'm thinking about Japan I'm thinking about everywhere wherever you are in the world have a wonderful rest of your day I truly mean that here in the the US North America Europe Africa all the places have a wonderful rest of your day we'll see you next week abanto peace yo what is good post vi v here's a fist bump for the one time Bop thank you so much for staying to the end of the video here's a second fist bump because you deserve it you deserve it here we go come on give me a fist bump come on you got it B thank you so much how have the first few days of spring been for you if you're living in the northern hemisphere for living in the South how's fall been I'm not like on the same wavelength as like someone going into fall coming off of Summer cuz like coming off of winter I kind of want some warmer weather and right now in New York City it's cold it's windy it's cloudy you can see the the light changes so much because I use natural light and it's been cold like the first day was decently okay it wasn't like that warm we had some we had a day like last week where it was 70 and it was so windy that it felt like 57 but that 50 7 was the nicest 57° ever like it was sunny it was windy but it was nice and I'm excited to experience my first spring in New York City sometimes people forget like I'm still new to New York and we've been here for half a year already which is crazy but we're just we're just getting into the flow of thing just getting into the the content that I've been wanting to make just getting everything set up we still have a lot to do honestly you guys saw the shoes back there like there's so much I want to do with the space but anyways answer down in the comments # pvv when you answer how has spring been so far for you has it been nice has it been Sunny has it been warm are you excited for spring do you like spring let me know I appreciate you guys so much for staying to the end of the video you have no idea sometimes I don't always get to the post Viv comments but trust me I'm always thinking about you guys I'm always just incredibly thankful for everyone who um supports this Channel and has helped develop the channel without you guys the community the conversation it just stops with me talking to this thing camera so yeah anyways you guys enjoy the rest of your day uh we'll see you next week peace

Channel: Drew Joiner

Views: 68,297

Keywords: Fashion, New Balance, Sneakers, Footwear, Commentary, Japanese Americana, Americana, Fashion Trends, Fashion Commentary, Palace, Streetwear, Gorpcore, 2022 Fashion, 2023 Fashion, Levi's, JJJJound, Menswear, Womenswear, Nike, Adidas, Birkenstock, Loafers, Pick Ups, Fashion Pick Ups, Fast Fashion, Sustainable Fashion, Fashion Hauls, Zara, HM, Shein, Aime, ALD, Fitpics, 2024 fashion, fashion trends, trends, social media, genzfashion

Id: ICjXBxyuSA8

Length: 12min 38sec (758 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 24 2024