As we hover excitedly on the brink of the mass adi adoration about to arise following the imminent release of the new Spezial collection and the deadstock magic soon to be seen at the Manchester exhibition, I’d like to take a little sidestep and take some time out to appreciate the mighty Nike. Though my love of the three stripes has been pretty consistent since I was about ten years old, it’s only in the past couple of years that I have come to fully appreciate the beauty behind Oregon’s finest export. Apart from previous love affairs with Cortez and pretty much everything in the ACG range my past indifference has now got me playing catch-up with all those ace reissues that I missed out on first time around. What I love is the fact that most of these modernist models on show here from JD Sports impressive selection resemble the type of prize pop art exhibits you’d see as part of a Jeff Koons collection. There’s also something genuinely addictive about slipping your feet into a brand new pair of Nikes isn’t there? A sensation which never fails to offer an unbridled feeling of intense powerfulness betwixt your toes, regardless of how unfit or unsporting your future swoosh-assisted activities end up being. So if you too like a bit of Nike, JD Sports have pretty much covered all bases from flip flops to hi-tops.
8 Comments
Trainers and fashion buys are all personal choice. It shouldn’t matter where you get the item from whether it’s from an independent retailers or a retail outlet.
Andrew, do you want a job writing for us?
I think somebody ^^^^^^^ got word of the day toilet paper last Christmas.
Thanks for such intellectual prosody Jobby (no ironic intention) – but unfortunately given the fact Size? retail is in the JD sports group- I have the same subjective contempt. For the record Jobby, if I do want to purchase training shoes (which is honestly less frequent than in my youth) I am in the fortunate position to be friends with many distribution agents and independent retailers, who source product colours or products rarely available in the United Kingdom.
So the lesson my friend is – those who with the intellectual capacity to be independent and not have a style reference point of a vagrant – have developed a distribution network that is able to provide products. Which in some cases takes up to three years before appearing in the mass market outlets.
N.B Haglof 1914 range has some seriously good looking jackets. But that Jobby could take you up to a year to work out or maybe never unless it appears in oi polloi.
I’ll bet Andrew shops in Size? every week without a hint of irony.
Everybody relax
Its an issue that could cost me £45 an hour to discuss with a professional, in order to resolve – but I have serious contempt for JD Sports. You maybe asking the Question – how is this related to Nike casual training shoes and a retail store? Let me explain, this chain store does offer a variety of appealing generic casual training shoes. That is not in question. But the contempt arises from its distribution policy of selling generic casual shoes at a retail cost, that is ultimately destructive to both independent outlets and the abstract concept of customer choice in many cotton towns in the northwest.
In a broader consideration, this cost volume strategy also has social implications for its employees, given the fact that many of them fall within part-time or casual categories. Given this, many employees face at best uncertainty in weekly income, that maybe below social security support.
Leaving these complexities aside, a generic casual training shoe can’t be considered to fall within the abstract notion of “cool” if its so easily accessible that everyone has a pair. Which for many who appreciate tighter distribution and have an understanding of savvy purists values of post modern casual dressing. Such widely distributed cheap, bandwagon shoe lines hold no appeal. Conversely, if these products did appeal, to the broad readership/subtly dressed casual cohort- reference points (Id est proper magazine) would become irrelevant, given the dominance of price variant in mainstream casual dressing.
Did JD Sports give you money you to write this?