Over the weekend at the F1 race in Vegas, Travis Scott grabbed headlines for what he was (and wasn’t) wearing. The longtime Nike ambassador wasn’t seen in a whole lot of Swooshes and some people raced to conclusions at speeds that only Max Verstappen could match.
For one, less than a week after launching his new fragment Air Jordan 1 Lows, he seemed to be mobbing around Vegas in some Uggs. Ok, fine? I guess there’s no chance of them getting water damage in the desert but still an odd choice. Even if you don’t want to wear the kicks now that a bunch of other people have them, what about your friend Chase B’s upcoming PE of your own signature sneaker? Would have been a great moment to advertise those.
But that wasn’t even the biggest head scratcher for La Flame this weekend, as he did eventually ditch the Uggs for a more Nike-friendly pair of Chuck Taylors.
Checks or 3 Stripes? What Does He Like?
No, the most confusing fashion choice for the superstar was his clothing. Travis was rocking a jacket from adidas’ Y-3 label, their high end imprint by Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. Kind of flies in the face of his whole “checks over stripes” movement. If he wanted to wear something from Japan that matched his Uggs, he had a whole collection of brown fragment merch that accompanied his latest shoe. Maybe he missed out on those because he blew his whole shopping budget on the $4k Cactus Jack x Takashi Murakami pillow. Priorities, man.
Scott’s decision to not-so-subtly wear adidas at F1 could have been chalked up to him having some fun on his day off and not being so focused on pushing his neverending list of collaborations… but he was also wearing his upcoming revival of the iconic Oakley X-Metal Juliets, his next project as “Chief Visionary” of the eyewear brand.
Scott Sent Social Media into a Frenzy
So, he was in fact showcasing his collaborators. That would make adidas Y-3's comment on a photo of Trav in the jacket seem slightly more significant. The brand's official Instagram account left a suspicious Shushing Emoji underneath the city of Vegas' post about the rapper hanging out in the Paddock at the race. Normally in the sneaker and streetwear space, this Emoji is a telltale sign of something on the way that the brand is signaling they will announce soon but not quite yet.
The rumor mill was fully in motion at that point and social media was Stormi with questions about Travis Scott’s future at Nike? Would he leave for adidas? Would we all be ok if we didn’t get a flipped-Swoosh Jordan 1 in every colorway imaginable? What would the adidas logo look like in reverse when he brought his signature design language there? Actually, that one I can answer. Did some R&D last time there were whispers of Travis defecting to the dark side.
Even former Nike designers were weighing in with their predictions, as Swoosher-turned-tattoo artist Shme dropped big lookout eyes on Twitter, which typically hold up in court as a surefire sign something is definitely going to happen.
More thoughts from Sneaker Twitter:
What Can Nike do to Keep Travis Scott from Leaving?
If we are to believe the great and powerful internet, Travis Scott's contract with Nike is up soon and extension discussions have been as prickly as cacti. Some even say Travis has taken meetings with the likes of adidas and Vans. In the last year since Elliot Hill took over as captain of the Swoosh ship, he's made a lot of changes. Some positive, some puzzling. The most questionable one was not erecting a living monument to LaFlame when he asked for one.
Hill recently named the entire Nike campus after Phil Knight but really, who has done more for the brand recently? That's probably what Travis is asking himself while contemplating this major career decision. "Lebron and Serena have buildings, why not me?"
The new Nike CEO has had plenty of time for building inflatable jackets and robotic sneaker legs but no time for ensuring his star player was happy and team morale was high? C'mon coach, don't let him make the Jump man.
Drew oversees content at Sole Retriever and hates writing in the 3rd person soooo I'm going to stop. Ran The Hundreds Blog in LA for a long time before moving back east to make cool commercials and funny tweets at [insert big agency]. Now I'm doing what I really love: talking sneakers, streetwear, and everything in between. Email me at drew@soleretriever.com with scoops and size 13 heat.
just in case travis jumps from jumpman, I mocked up what the three stripes would look like upside down. then went a step further and imagined them reversed.
FYI, for those who don’t know, Y-3 is technically an Adidas Brand, branched off from the Yohji Yamamoto brand. The “3” stands for “3 Stripes”. Some ppl have said just cause Travis wore Y-3 doesn’t mean he wore adidas Nah, that big “3” on that jacket means something lol - I think
