Wild color combinations and extremely unusual designs were still a very risky decision for brands. For example, Nike's collaboration with the Japanese cactus jack representative atmos - despite their interesting decisions, for some reason it is the regular

Air Jordan 1 in the usual black and white colors that are the brand's best-selling model. While collaborators (often artists or sneaker shops)

took on relatively less responsibility, their corporate partners, those who had the right to put the shoes into production, focused on buyers' wallets.

And so, thanks to these very three traits of "greatness" used in the process of cooperation, some of the most legendary sneakers in the history of footwear were born.

The atmos x Nike Air Max 1 “Elephant”; Kanye West x Louis Vuitton “Jaspers”; OG Stussy x Nike Huarache - they all match them.

The quick sell-out, as well as the cultural impact that each of the above models still maintains, testifies to the potential importance of each collaboration.

Unfortunately, while there are more competitors than ever on the market, many brands have become less and less aware of their potential in the years since that golden age. Yes, there are some other giants - Rihanna x PUMA, for example.

However, in comparison with what was before, what is being done now is no good at all. Simply put: for every classic pair, there is a whole shelf of co-branded sneakers.

While we've seen some major collaboration releases lately, we're arguing that they're getting lower in quality on average. In my opinion, three traits define the sorry state of sneakers today.

Over the past few years, collabs have relied heavily on gimmicks such as creating hype (1), predictable colorways that would have done without a collaborator, and – most importantly – general sneaker releases with new graphics and completely useless changes or complete them. absence (3).

As a rule, one of the above points is enough to kill even the most promising collab in advance. If you really want to destroy any release potential, happily take two points at a time.

Hell, if you're filled with universal hatred at all, take all three! What am I talking about? Meet YEEZY Powerphase.

While there is nothing original in our world anymore, today's collaboration situation - and the traits that predetermine them - are the results of an allergic reaction to creative risk.

So how does the collaborative design policy prove that a second collaborator was involved in cactus jack its creation? For every Rick Owens x adidas Tech Runner with minimal branding and maximal

Aesthetics, there are tons of one-night stand legends (Supreme Uptempo, Anti Social Social Club x Vans, Converse x colette x Club 75 Chuck Taylors, etc.) whose only advantage is name power .