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Source: Lakai Limited Footwear | The Shoes We Skate
When I heard that Tony Hawk, fresh off of his appearance on the Masked Singer, was signing to Vans it struck me as odd. Vans has seen considerable growth. I’ve even discussed the transition for Vans into resale territory.
Black Kids Wear Vans® & Vans Didn’t Have to Pander For It To Happen
This link above gives a dive into where a lot of growth for Vans took place. What it doesn’t do is pick up on a post I wrote last year about the technical advancements Vans did by creating the AVE:
Vans Just Modernized The Skate Shoe in a Major Way | Vans Ave Pro
Vans has made a number of smart moves and signing Tony Hawk, who is the Jordan of skating, allows for a legacy play by the brand which will undoubtedly endear the company to fans, but as I stated in the previous link, a lot of the people wearing the shoes aren’t skaters and they were influenced by the Lil Wayne’s and Chris Brown’s wearing skate shoes in entertainment. Those same entertainers haven’t latched onto Lakai and Lakai allowed Tony Hawk to walk. The question is why?
The brand is equally authentic. It was founded by two skaters, Mike Carroll and Rick Howard in 1999 and they sponsor a number of professional riders. The brand creates tees like this:
And as I made it a point to share the Riley 2 shoe in the header, there are options that are equally as stylish and in some ways better looking than a number of Vans models. The shoe below is the Cambridge. It rings up at only 68.00 dollars and in my opinion rivals the performance models from Nike SB. Full disclosure, I’m not a skater. I was the coach running kids off of the yard at the high school, although I secretly was like, “damn these kids are dope.”
What it is that takes a brand like Vans from a place where they had to be acquired to become one of the most relevant brands in today’s market? If remaining true to your demographic is endearing, shouldn’t Lakai be in a position to capitalize on their commitment to street style and support of the culture? Is it simply a money issue, or is it the fact that the brand hasn’t paid the right endorser?
Maybe it’s none of the above.
Check out this video:
Did you get to the end? Did you laugh?
Sometimes it simply isn’t the time for a brand to explode. They can do all of the right things and it comes down to a little luck and exposure. If Nike dropped another SB Dunk it would be on every sneaker site in the country. Nike wouldn’t have to pay a dime. This Tyler Pacheco Stale Bagel colorway of Lakai’s Proto is well executed. As a matter of fact the model sold out on the site. Lakai is hitting its marks, but it hasn’t crossed over and that’s okay. The brand is creating some nice kicks and doing so creatively. Do I expect Lakai to take off like Vans did the last couple of years? I wouldn’t be surprised at all.