The Nike x OFF WHITE collab is hot–but at this price you might want to buy a laptop instead

Over the summer of 2017, hypebeasts all around the world were teased with articles and speculations about a collaboration that would become monumental in the sneaker community. As the summer was coming to an end, on August 26th, the world-famous clothing giant Nike confirmed they were releasing a sneaker collaboration with an Italian-based brand, OFF-WHITE.

The release, known as “The Ten” is being split up into two smaller packs containing 5 shoes in each pack. Over a month ago, Nike released the “REVEALING” pack, The second collaboration in the collection will be called “GHOSTING” and will be released in November. The “REVEALING” pack was pre-released during the SS18 fashion show in New York between September 9th to the 13th. It was also shown in London, Milan and Paris.

Immediately, the shoe generated so much attention to itself, everybody was scrambling to find themselves an early release of it.

Everyday, the sneaker community reacts to the latest releases with huge excitement. The hype drives up the price for a specific shoes considerably. When the Nike X OFF-WHITE package releases in November, the potential prices for the shoes may vary greatly between the models. Two types of similar shoes can have a vast price gap; for example, the “Blazer Mid” costs a reasonable $130 USD, while the illogically priced “Air VaporMax” costs a steep $250 USD. The problem with all the attention and demand related to these shoes is that it reduces the chance of a consumer actually purchasing them on release day. Unfortunately, for anyone hoping to buy a pair, this collaboration is huge, and not many people will get the shoes in-store. With these circumstances, due to the limited amount of shoes, many will purchase the shoes just to resell them for a profit. Already from the pre-releases, the price for the coveted Air Jordan 1’s have skyrocketed from the retail value of $190 USD to an average resale value of $1700 USD–obviously way beyond what the average shoe shopper will be willing to spend.

Not everybody has that kind of budget when it comes to their clothing. Along the expensive side of the clothing and footwear market, designer brands like OFF-WHITE and Supreme are getting more overpriced by the day. These brands are trying to appeal to young adults around the ages of 15-30 who get hooked on the brands because of their popularity among idols and celebrities, but typically that targeted audience isn’t able to afford these sensationally marked-up shoes.

However, there are shoes that are similar to the coveted OFF-WHITE versions with interchangeable specifications. For the most-wanted Air Jordan 1’s, the pair of shoes that are nearly identical to them are the Air Jordan 1 “Chicago”, which was the template that Virgil Abloh, the founder of OFF-WHITE used to make his version. Since Abloh used these same shoes for the template of his version, they both fit the same and have the exact same comfort.

I have owned a pair of Jordan 1’s before, and the fit of this shoe is amazing. They are a really comfortable pair of shoes and it feels like you are walking on clouds. All Jordan’s are the exact same except for the colour, so you can expect the OFF-WHITE version to fit and feel identical. The only major difference between the shoe besides the color design is obviously the price: the “Chicago” costs around $415 USD, which is still really expensive but that is far cheaper than the massive $1700 USD you would be paying for Virgil’s version.

The differences between the Jordan 1 “Chicago” and the OFF-WHITE version being so minor, there isn’t a point to getting the OFF-WHITE versions–it simply isn’t worth paying around $1700 for a pair of shoes. It is a lot more beneficial to get the “Chicago” and save around $1200.

This doesn’t just go for the Jordan 1 version either–it goes for diversified versions too. I would definitely get a similar version of each shoe in the pack for way cheaper, instead of paying over a combined $15000 USD for “The Ten.”

Without a doubt, the collaboration is amazing and I really do enjoy the style and how unique each shoe is compared to everything else out on the market, but at the ridiculous cost for each shoe, it isn’t worth it. It’s just a similar design to a shoe that already exists. Why would you add an extra thousand dollars on top of it for a cooler design?

It all basically comes down to the buildup, and advertising around these brands, and the insane prices that some people are clearly willing to pay.