Grey smooth nubuck upper with recycled terry panels and flat reflective two tone nylon laces. Leather lined upper and molded EVA footbed for breathability on a lightweight running sole.
Source: HAYDEN
I’ve had a long standing love of CLAE that once resulted in me writing them and telling them that one of the local stores carrying the brand couldn’t sell the shoes (I actually didn’t write it exactly like this, but more on that later). This was in 2010. They made this amazing casual shoe that became a staple in my closet. The local shop sold to dopeboys and dudes that wore bright and flashy clothing. I wrote the company and explained that I bought every pair the store had in stock because the owner/s, who had a number of locations in the city, gave them to me at way below retail.
Understand that this does not reflect well on the shop, but it reflected poorly on CLAE for extending the shop a deal without understanding what type of store they were selling too. Memphis doesn’t really have an upscale sneaker boutique and fashion spot for men who find their fashion sense in GQ, A Continuous Lean or Uncrate (there is some opportunity here…). The shoes were never going to be good for that type of store. As a matter of fact the shoes were never going to be good for any of the stores in this region. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a market for it. I got those CLAE shoes from the store owner for nothing. I took them to an open air market where I had been setting up for years. I switched up my style of dress to date night fresh and I sold those pairs for 80 dollars a pop.
I repeat this wasn’t cool for the company or the retail outlet. I was operating in what is known as the grey market. I had no relationship with the brand and that’s dangerous for a company. I was still a college professor and education consultant at the time, but I still sold kicks on the weekends. If I understood business the way I do today I could have created a concept that served that Uncrate styled male customer. At the time, my only goal was to earn dough from eBay store and from my weekend hustle to support my launch of my own shoe company ARCH.
Once I bought all of the pairs from the retailer. Around 100 pair, I had a market for those shoes. I even changed my own design from running shoes to my casual shoe the ARCH Allen because I was doing so well with those 100 pair. I wrote CLAE and asked them if they could let me buy their clearance models. Eric responded, “There really isn’t anything I’m willing to do to help you out. You’re a grey market retailer making money off of my brand, and you want to increase your profits. You’re not willing to help me protect the distribution or image of my brand by letting me know which retailers are dealing outside the legal specifications of their contract…” When I wouldn’t tell Eric the stores who had sold me the shoes, the dialogue ended.
I write that to say this, I was wrong. As I built ARCH from 2009 to 2016 and faced all of the difficulties and problems with launching a brand I realized the inherent problems for smaller companies. That’s why in April of 2015 I created the section of this site Dope S–t I Like. In this section I wanted to be the anti “big sneaker website”. I reached out to small companies and wrote posts about different brands because I knew what it felt like to struggle and fight to gain and maintain relevance.
I’m sharing this story because CLAE continues to create amazing footwear. The Hayden is one of several styles from the brand that is utilizing recycled materials. They’ve made an effort to not only create great collaborative efforts, but they are moving towards sustainable options and I have to commend them and share the footwear here. I do have a sort of obligation and I don’t mind saying that at all. What I hope is that I can help to bring attention to something dope and maybe you’ll take a second to check them out during this difficult time for every brand.