Among the Sneakerheads: Market Forces, Busted Apps, and Searching for Yeezys at the Westfield Mall
On June 27, the first man to ever financially and figuratively check Nike (according to him, at least) returned to retail with the release of his original Yeezy Boost 350, priced at $200. The first sneaker drop from Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 1 seemed to follow the Jordan Rules of distribution — with limited availability sparking interest and driving up the market. But West is a man of the people, not just a profit-driven product designer, remember? He recently mentioned, in an interview with the BBC, that “nothing should be exclusive,” and compared the idea of retail exclusion to a “colored people fountain.”
When it comes to fashion and footwear, Kanye was preaching affordability and access for all. Could the Louis Vuitton Don become the GAP God? What better place to find out than the mall?
Westfield Culver City provides standard shopping mall sneaker fare, with a Foot Locker, Footaction, Finish Line, Champs Sports, and an Adidas store, all in one space. The only store carrying Kanye’s newest creation was Footaction, which you could tell by the crowd gathering outside the store’s glass doors in an otherwise empty mall. If the sheer numbers didn’t tip you off, the people gingerly walking around in an effort to avoid creasing their shoes definitely did. Among those was YEEZY Boost 350 buyer Mike Goggins.
“It worked beautifully,” remarked Goggins — a young sneaker lover rocking all-black athletic gear — with a wry smile, clutching his bland, brown box. “YEEZY” is subtly inscribed on the side. Inside, Goggins had an ever-so-sought-after pair of size 9 Boost 350s — despite the fact that he usually wears a size 10. He heard “they run a little big.”
What worked for Goggins was the Adidas “Confirmed" app, which was used by the apparel company to control the release in select stores. Lines began to form outside of Footaction about 30 minutes prior to the store’s 10 a.m. opening. As more patrons strolled into single-file sneaker fruition, a group of jaded sneakerheads stood lurking, trying to get a glimpse. Some were holding out for a chance at a pair that would go unclaimed, while others were devising plans to solicit one of the lucky few who scored shoes with an offer as they exited the store.
Employees at the designated retailers weren’t allowed to enter the Yeezy sweepstakes. And it may be for the best, given that there’ve been reports about bribes being offered up in Australia.
June 27 was something of a blockbuster moment for sneakerheads, with notable releases of Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving signature shoes hitting stores. But the Yeezy Boost 350 seemed to top the most-wanted list.
“They’re just more limited,” said Goggins bluntly. “People want what they can’t have. That’s all it is. It’s like that with anything that’s super hype, they go after that. Me, personally, the Jordans are hype, too, but I don’t want those. I’m not a fan.”
Being on scene for the official release may seem frivolous, but, according to Goggins, it is a key component of sneakerhead culture. As the line continued to grow and mall patrons passed by to check out the commotion, that moment seemed palpable.
“It’s all about that respect in the sneaker community, you know?” said Goggins. “People want to hear the story behind the shoes you’re rocking.”
If you didn’t know any better, it’d be easy to assume he just casually rolled up to Footaction to check out the scene. The reality is, serious sneaker shopping is hard work, and it is increasingly demanding some technological savvy (and luck). Goggins was at the mercy of the Adidas app, as were many others. In fact, it had dominated his Yeezy shopping experience up until now.
On Thursday, June 25, Goggins hurried to his office in downtown Los Angeles to secure what he refers to as “that premium Internet.” By the time the app was available in the Los Angeles area, high user traffic had already crashed it. A “panicky sense of anxiety” ensued as technical problems continued, but Goggins persevered by relying on the old-school fix of “uninstalling and reinstalling the app.” Finally, by 10:30 a.m., the app activated properly, but the process was still far from over.
“I just kept refreshing until like 1:30 until it finally hits,” recalls Goggins. “I pressed my size. I pressed confirm.” Simplicity at its finest? Nope. The app resent his request with a “failed” message on a few occasions, and mixed in some frozen screens and lapses for good measure.
“I guess I didn’t get them, so I went to the ‘my reservations,’ the far left tab, and I reopened it again. Somehow, shoes were there, just waiting.”
Pick-up day couldn’t have worked out better for Goggins. Shockingly, he was able to snag a second pair of the shoes to add to his reserved Boosts.
“I went to Barneys and I saw a line out there,” said Goggins. “They gave out 48 tickets, because they had 48 [pairs of] shoes. Five guys didn’t show up, so I just hopped in line there. Ten-minute wait and got a second pair.”
Not everyone was as lucky as Goggins. At one point in the afternoon, at Westfield, a man with a hint of a German accent by the name of Axel approached him to get a glimpse of the shoes. Axel already had been attempting to coerce customers into taking cash for their prized possessions, but no one was biting.
Here was a prime example of the contradictory nature that exists in the sneaker world. There’s a very fine line between “in demand” and “oversaturated.” In shoe terms, it’s basically the difference between the Jordan 1s and the Starbury II. Rarity drives droves of footwear fanatics, but does that exclusive culture dismiss the possibility of a shoes-for-all market, the very kind that West espouses? The answer isn’t clear, even though the systematic approach in place has proven effective with brands like Nike spending $3 billion on what it calls “demand creation.” And the demand could be felt in Culver City on the 27th.
“Can I touch them?” asked Axel with almost hysterical excitement.
“Yeah, sure — of course, man,” replied Goggins, in an affable, friendly manner.
After a stroke or two, a giddy Axel seemed more determined than ever. Goggins said his goodbyes, bagged up his Boosts, and headed out on his way to SneakerCon at the Los Angeles Convention Center, leaving Axel to pace back and forth and resume his post outside of Footaction.
Just one week later, Westfield Culver City seemed far removed from the the excitement of the Yeezy Boost 350 release. The hoopla has subsided. Axel was no longer plotting outside of the Footaction storefront. Upon inquiring about the potential of a spare pair of Boosts being in stock, the response was a mere chuckle at the thought.
Inclusion and accessibility is nice in theory. In reality, it may just not be the case, unless you’ve got enough cash to cover this so-called eBay bargain. Or your last name is Kardashian.
In the end, though, we mustn’t forget what we’ve known for years: Kanye lives by two words. “F–k you, pay me.”
At least this time around, we’re paying a little less, right?
