artwork by Stephen Bliss
Project + Exec is a new series where I’ve decided to seek out footwear executives who are minorities (Black, Latino, Indian, Native American, Asian men and women) who are doing some dope work, but are being overlooked by the larger media outlets. It’s my small part. I really hope you look more into the brands and people behind them.
The above picture is enough to place sneakerheads into a frenzy. The KAWS x Air Jordan 4 Collab was coveted and was a turning point for Jordan Brand after Nike and JB had been in decline for about two years. Jordan Brand had dropped a series of what I labeled, for lack of a better word shitty releases. Resale was dead for the brand. No one wanted Air Jordan 6 Lows or Cyber Monday 3s… as a matter of fact Cyber Monday 3s released two years ago and they are still in stock. That’s how bad it was for JB. It was compounded by adidas kicking ass with NMD, UB and Yeezy. Unfortunately all of that fell into the lap of the Head of Energy Products, Gemo Wong.
When you head a department called Energy (another name for Senior Director Special Projects) it’s your job to deliver the interest in the products that drive hypebeasts and collector’s towards your brand. While many analysts consider limited release shoes as non-commercial drops that don’t have any bearing on overall footwear sales, I understand the aspirational nature behind a limited release drop like KAWS 4. A shoe like that can indirectly drive interest in other models. The KAWS drop preceded the G8RD Pack and a few other limited models like Levi’s 4 and other energy product. As Nike began to implement Edit to Amplify it appeared that Gemo Wong had his handcuffs taken off. By the time Investor’s Day arrived in October Jordan Brand was back and it was all because of a team of guys led by someone who has in their job history stints at the dopest Hip-Hop brands that started this current wave of fascination with streetwear.
Before joining Nike and Jordan Brand, Gemo worked at a who’s who of classic Hip-Hop clothing labels: Phat Farm, Enyce, Girbaud and Sean John. As he rose through the ranks at Jordan Brand he was instrumental in helping to establish the retro era of Jordan footwear. You have to remember that retros only came into existence in the early 2000s. As with many important people at a brand there are those who become forgotten in the grand scheme of how a brand gains momentum. Gemo is definitely a project + exec you should get to know and this quick story does very little to get to the heart of what he’s done, but I hope it pushes those of you who are reading this to dig a little deeper and discover what he’s meant to sneaker culture and fashion.