The first time I ever came across anything @tomsachs that had nothing to do with Nike was at this little coffee shop called @sfvelorouge in San Francisco's Inner Richmond. It was a year or so after his first sneaker with Nike, so I was familiar with the name, but I had no clue who he was. I was at this particular coffee shop for the first (and only) time as I was an hour or so early for a doctors appointment just up the block at St. Marys.
Anyway, I ordered a hot chocolate or a mocha (because those are the only things I order at coffee shops) and decided to take a look at the magazines they had on display...one of those that caught my eye was an issue of Bricolage, which had Tom Sachs printed along the bottom...and...apparently...is/was Tom Sachs limited edition self-published magazine.
Flipping through the pages, I'd say just about all of it flew right over my head. Having lived in SF, there is no shortage of art-house-type-stuff that flies right over my head so I wasn't all that pressed to look any further...I've just lived with the idea...'he's an artist'... but it did also make me wonder...of all people - why would Nike partner with Tom Sachs? Tom Sachs, to me, looked more like something 'counterculture'...so what is he to the monolith that is Nike? I used to think that the best way to change something you didn't like was to infiltrate it and change it from the inside out...is that what was going on here? I guess these questions are well above my pay grade.
Anyway...I saw this ad and it made me wonder...was this @tomsachs attempt at pulling a @patagonia ? Patagonia famously gained 30% in sales directly following the ad and it looks like these Tom Sachs General Purpose shoes have been selling out at the same clip (and funny enough - resale for the yellow pair sits almost exactly 30% above retail)...but what do you think? Was this Nike's version of Patagonia's famous ad?