HighSnob Step Backs, The SOTY All-Male Panel Debate, Nike Newness And WWW's Magical Year
As for the election: I, like the security guard, want it to be one way, but Marlo says it's the other way...
I Used To “Work” Here So…
Zalando-owned HighSnobiety has laid off approximately 12 people this past Monday, according to reporting by Puck News reporter Lauren Sherman. The cuts reportedly wiped out much of the New York editorial staff where the executive editor, fashion market editor, two social media editors, a commerce editor and the head of talent were all chopped. Additional layoffs are expected to come in Europe next week.
The cutbacks were foreshadowed by the departure earlier this year by Nichelle Sanders, the executive vice president for the Americas, who joined the company just under a year ago. Much-heralded editor Willa Bennett also exited stage right back in August, swapping out her role as editor-in-chief at Highsnobiety for the same role at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.
Cuts were described done to create “efficient allocation of resources” as the company focuses on “streamlining our global structure to more closely align with the shifting industry as well as internal needs.”
Given the shifts away from the streetwear space within fashion, it comes as no surprise that HighSnobiety is facing revenue challenges. Still, it’s a remarkable turn of events given just two years ago the publication was celebrating a National Magazine Award for general excellence.
In a profile of the publication by the NY Times that reported on the award and profiled Bennett, the company’s chief operating officer Juergen Hopfgartner described the company as profitable. Additionally, HighSnobiety’s e-commerce business was described as “growing,” aided by the resources of Zalando, which paid “123.6 million euros (about $131 million) to acquire Highsnobiety in 2022.”
C.E.O. David Fischer told the NY Times that under Bennett’s leadership, Highsnobiety’s audience had shifted from predominantly male to a 50-50 gender split. Given my background as co-founder of HighSnobette, a Highsnobiety sub-blog covering the women’s space that was shuttered in 2013 (a pre-agency era when the platform was not yet profitable and wanted to concentrate resources on the main publication), I’m pretty sure that is a giant lie, or, if you are more gentile, a claim not meant to be taken literally. Streetwear and sneaker culture have always been dominated by men, and platforms like Hypebeast and Complex—as much as they have tried—have always struggled to attract a loyal female customer.
I do think HighSnobiety made a gallant effort to grow its female audience, starting with the hire of Bennett in 2022. "I assume that, like many companies before HighSnobiety, the money ran out before it could crack the code.
I’ve always said—lane changing is hard! Attempting to connect with a new customer base takes a lot of time and effort as well as large piles of money and even then, mistakes will be made. It’s not for the faint of heart or prideful and if a company manages to find success, it needs to be prepared to come out on the other side as a very different company.
The Debate That Never Ends
ComplexCon announced it’s “Sneaker of the Year” panel and there was a big discussion on X about the fact that the panel this year doesn’t include any women. If we’re being real, the SOTY panel has never been especially female friendly though more years than not since the inaugural event in 2016 there’s been a woman on the panel: Lena Waithe in 2018, Aleali May in 2019, Sue Bird in 2020, Vashtie Kola in 2022 and Kristen Noel Crawley in 2023.
When I asked my followers on X for a list of women they’d like to see on the panel—keeping in mind the person needs to have a certain degree of clout, there were a lot of great suggestions. What follows is a list (in alphabetical order) of all the women who were mentioned as worthy of membership on the panel:
Nina Chanel Abney, Jazerai Allen-Lord, Yoon Ahn, Grace Wales Bonner, Veneda Carter, Tela D’Amore, Tiona Denice, JerLisa Nicole, Kixie Jixie, Flau'jae Johnson, Vashtie Kola, Coi LeRay, Cynthia Lu, Nicole McLaughlin, Aleali May, Renell Medrano, Megan Thee Stallion, Emily Oberg, Arike Ogunbowale, Angel Reese, Sneaky Leak podcasts hosts: Henny, Elaina and Janelle, Dawn Staley, Breanna Stewart and Teyana Taylor.
Does ComplexCon’s decision to retreat back to an all-male panel mirror HighSnobiety’s efforts to renew its focus on the male customer? I do not know but instinctually I kind of doubt it. This is the first ComplexCon since it was purchased by NTWRK and it’s also the first time it’s taking place in Las Vegas, so if anything, the panel composition may relate more to those changes as opposed to some grand scheme to recommit to serving male attendees.
I will just say that it feels too fitting in a year that Donald Trump was reelected president and just over two years since women lost their ability to control their healthcare decisions, the panel reverts to an all-male lineup.
Nike Resale Down 11%—Just Wow
StockX co-founder Greg Schwartz is taking over as CEO, replacing Scott Cutler, who held the role for five years and was an early investor. Amidst softening in sneaker resale, Schwartz plans to emphasize brand growth and product innovation as part of an effort to further scale globally.
The news comes of the heels of StockX announcing it has partnered with Walmart to offer an assortment of sneakers on the big box retailer’s ecommerce site.
In StockX’s “The State of Resale” report in August, the company declared that “sneaker resale isn’t dead,” noting that the brand landscape had changed. Commented on changing brand demand, the report pointed out:
StockX data shows a diversified portfolio of brands that are locking in the top spots for year-over-year growth including Asics (up 589%), Adidas (up 88%) and Yeezy (up 23%). The latter depicts the complexities of shopper behavior, where virtue signaling falls to the wayside, in favor of cultural clout. The sneaker resale market for the usual top-charting mainstream brands like Nike and Jordan however has slowed, as market share has dropped 11% and 12% respectively from 2023 to 2024.
Happy Now?
Nike over the past two months has queued up two new silhouettes, providing analysts and sneaker lovers alike with the innovation they claim they crave.
Personally I’m not crazy about either of these shoes and I actually think the Dn8 should have been scrapped altogether following the lackluster demand for the Dn, its predecessor.
My wish list for Nike—for the love of god!—is to create a beautiful low profile, performance shoe for people who walk a lot or track steps as the main component of their fitness routine. There are people like me who are sick to death of all the cushioning, which, point, blank period is not attractive (!!) and want a shoe with cutting-edge performance components. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes, it is.
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