adidas' gets STRUNG, LVxNBA Bricks It and Mushroom Leather!
Episode 4 of The shegotgame Podcast is out now.
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Hi friends and strangers,
Can you believe we made it to 2021? I planned on sending this specific newsletter back in October, after Canadian Thanksgiving/Indigenous People’s Day.
But *gestures generally* life happened. Before I went back to New York, Canada made sure to send me back with a full dose of draaama. The cat was sprayed by skunk, our internet died then was resurrected, the Green Party of Canada elected new leader, I had to juggle my life in two countries with two two very different healthcare systems and of course - news was a general dumpster fire.
Then I flew back to New York City and two weeks of quarantine came and went with Hallowe’en, American Thanksgiving and then Christmas…My 2020 mantra of patience, process and progress also meant forcing myself not to multi-task (shoutouts to my psychiatrist and ADHD treatment) so unfortunately the podcast and newsletter went on a forced, accidental hiatus.
A new episode of the podcast will be dropping very soon but in in the meantime, here’s episode 4. I skipped the interview (I’m still getting used to this whole “producer” thing again TBH) and focussed more on diving deep on a few big stories. Listen below and let me know if you need help finding the podcast on your preferred platform - it’s listed as The shegotgame Podcast on all platforms.
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Is Mylo Mushroom “Leather” the Next Big Material?:
Leather is one of the most divisive materials when it comes to sustainability. Leather - when properly produced, tanned and manufactured - can last for decades. My father still has wallets and key chains from the 1960’s that my great-grand-father and uncle made in our tannery and factory. However, you have to slaughter animals to produce it and processing requires a lot of chemicals that are often toxic to both the workers and the environment. Faux leather/pleather is often made from oil and often vegan leather will be made from a plastic hybrid material or have a PVC coating that will not biodegrade. So think about this way - those $50 boots you wore twice - will last longer in a landfill than you will on earth. It’s a tough quandary for many but thankfully material science and development are catching up!
A new leather alternative is emerging - and it’s mushrooms (sort of)! Now, I’m not talking about a psychedelic trip but Mylo, which is derived from mycelium. Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Bolt Threads, who is leading the Mylo charge, defines it like literal world wide web, as you can find mycelium in the soil, plants, trees and riverbeds connecting and bringing nutrients. Sometimes it sprouts fruiting bodies, which become mushrooms. Bolt Threads found a way to engineer mycelium cells in a lab that become sheets of fungus that are processed and then tanned and dyed. The process has a lot of advantages over more popular materials - it uses half the volume of water usually needed for cotton production and uses no animal products. Bolt Threads breaks down the process in the chart below.
An interesting call out in the information from Bolt is that they’re working with fifth generation tannery to find new ways to tan this certified bio-based material (meaning it is mostly made up of renewable, plant-based sources rather than chemically engineered). They’re also using vertical farming to lessen their ecological footprint, which gives me hope that we could see Mycelium farms built efficiently in countries where raw material processing has severely endangered workers and the environment.
What’s also fascinating about this development is the fact that it has brought major brands together to form a consortium to help fund the growth of this material. The Mylo consortium includes adidas, Stella McCartney, Lululemon and French luxury group Kering, whose brand portfolio includes Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga. The plan is for Mylo to appear in products as early as 2021, likely starting in smaller accessories before venturing into other categories like footwear (CAN’T WAIT!). This is incredibly encouraging as it is real proof that the industry can fund new technologies that create new and evolving jobs that could help diversify the industry. Hopefully, smaller, emerging brands that build more circular and efficient supply chains can also have access to Mylo and other similar bio-based materials, as most do not have the capital and clout that adidas and Kering have to their advantage.
I also wonder if perhaps by 2025 if leather factories retrofitted to produce Mylo? Could government grants or mega-brands help foot the bill to help revolutionize the new green methods? Could we eventually remove PU faux leather in favour of Mylo or other certified bio-based materials? One can hope. Leather will always have a big part of the material make up of footwear and accessories, but perhaps the shift is coming for better UnLeather to occupy space on the shelves and in our closets.
adidas’ Futurecraft gets STRUNG:
adidas Futurecraft projects are the German mega-brand’s platform to tease and test their upcoming concepts and innovation developments. It’s almost a (very controlled) lifting of the curtain for a sneak peek - and perhaps a way to counteract all the hype and secrecy around rival Nike’s Innovation Kitchen and all the smaller brands aimed at disrupting the innovation-first sneaker market.
The latest Futurecraft project is focussed on their next material and manufacturing evolution called STRUNG. It’s a proprietary robot that can knit the upper of the sneaker from multiple angles like a cocoon. What’s a really unique about it is that its an industry first process that allows for precise placement of thread - in any direction. To get really specific thread placement, knit uppers often have to be created in parts or if they are created as one piece, it takes a lot of time and engineering to get it right, especially if you’re working from a flat pattern. Being able to create a once piece upper that is so specifically tuned and 3D does change the game when it comes to knit uppers.
It’s not surprising that adidas is first testing this technology in running - all of their FUTURECRAFT projects have come through their running departments (4D outsoles, LOOP, etc.). It’ll be interesting to see if they are able to scale using more robots and what the turn around could be for uppers made with the STRUNG technology. For instance, can you order a custom upper on the adidas site sometime soon? Or will they just be tuned for specific kinds of athletes or ever come to consumers? Only time will tell, but it’s proof that materials and especially knits are the biggest area of innovation when it comes to footwear production efforts.
NBA x Louis Vuitton - Ill Timed and Terribly Designed:
The NBA has a reputation for being an incredibly sports progressive league when it comes to social justice issues and collective bargaining. However, when it comes to branded product collaborations - it’s been much more of a mixed bag. In early 2020, the NBA and Louis Vuitton announced a multi-year partnership. This is the French luxury fashion house’s first and only partnership with a North American sports league who have made trophy cases for football/soccer teams. The collection, which teased the night LeBron James and the Lakers won their championship - and it includes a new fully bespoke carrying case for the Larry O’Brien championship trophy. The case is the high point of the products thus far - after all, Louis Vuitton began as a luxury trunk company. The design is restrained but you can see both the obvious LV heritage markers - the “V” for victory in the traditional font - but also the NBA is tied in with blue and red highlights and blue lined NBA-logo emblazoned interior (microfibre, ugh).
However the same cannot be said for some of the other pieces. There’s a chunky Timberland-esque low-cut boot that seems like a new edition of LV’s Creeper book looks - although it presents more as a gentrified version of a Lugz boot. I can’t help but wonder if Jeff Hamilton was consulted for this collaboration or if Virgil just lifted inspiration from him?
There are $2300 cashmere-blend hoodies using lines stitching of the basketball as detailing (the lines don’t even match up properly) and a suit using tonal NBA logos as a spin on houndstooth (almost clever but again the pattern doesn’t even match!).
There’s also two versions of the Keepall Bandoulière duffle bags that originally made the rounds on social media. Both bags feature the NBA’s signatures colors - red, white and blue (groundbreaking) - there’s the traditional brown monogram and a weird non-traditional off-white or pale grey.
The traditional brown monogram print LVxNBA Basketball Keepall, $3500, includes white handles and details, gold hardware, a blue cross-body strap, an embossed red NBA removable ID tag, and a stitched NBA logo. The LVxNBA Basketball Keepall in pale grey/off-white monogram, $3500 (still in stock), is an odd departure aesthetically as well - the closest color combination would be reverse monogram eclipse (black monogram on a deeper dove grey) but the bag’s main color is closer to a true white with pale grey monogram which the brand calls Antarctica. I can’t imagine it will hold up well with travel - even if you exclusively fly private. This edition features blue handles and cross body strap, blue embossed NBA removable ID tag, red pipping details, gold hardware and a stitched NBA logo.
The one new, collab specific detail that both bags have are “an inside strap to hold a basketball, this Keepall has a flap system that reveals the ball behind a mesh net when opened” - which seems like a bit of an odd choice given that athletes do not carry their own balls (not a sexual euphemism) - and there is no limited LV ball that comes with it. It has heavy white sunglasses and club drugs in 2005 vibes - and I know the 2000’s are trending again (blame TikTok) but this just seems predictable and lazy.
I can only speculate why the design choices seem so basic, I’m left with a lot of questions since the bags don’t seem very intentional - unlike most heritage LV products. Did Virgil and his team not consult NBA players - many members of the league are diehard LV fans? (I have multiple sales associates from LV in my phone for different cities and different needs - country specific shipping is a bitch) Did LV give very strict parameters? Did they run out of a time? Is someone asleep inn the NBA design department? And finally - do they know I’m available for design consulting and general yelling about shitty collabs?
In all seriousness, in a time where so many are unemployed and players had to risk their lives to entertain us while playing in a bubble and now in empty arenas - a luxury house collaboration just feels ill timed. Players should be protected and rewarded for playing under such insane conditions - but do we need more ugly bags? I can tell you first hand that most athletes have PLENTY. There’s no word on any re-sale or retail prices for any of these pieces - but personally I’d pull from the Jeff Hamilton archives first and leave the LV unblemished.
Extra Credit:
One of the great things that came out of quarantine with my family was revisiting books I loved in high school and discussing them all over again - almost twenty years later. One of my favorite books I first read in grade 10 is Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King. King is a prolific Indigenous author who finds a way to blend different narrators, creation myth and satire in such an enthralling way. And if you haven’t listened to Dead Dog Cafe - you’re in for a treat.
Thanks for taking the time to read and/or listen! You can submit a voice message to the podcast here or leave a comment on the Substack post if you also have strong feelings on unintentional collabs and cool materials.
Stay safe and stay true,
Megan
@shegotgame
PS. Be sure to follow along on Twitter and Instagram for more and check out my website at MeganAnnWilson.com.
Teamwork makes the dream work, let’s all tune in and be The change we want to see. “Big Bless!!”
“Mylo Time!!” Is upon us