Tag Archives: Nike

Air- The Film About Jordan’s Nike Shoes

Note this review contains adult language and suggested themes.

AIR (2023): In 1984, shoe company Nike was barely keeping its head above water (they were third behind Converse and Adidas), when their talent scout Sonny Vaccaro got a wild hair up his ass about this up-and-coming b-ball phenom named Michael Jordan. He believed that he would be the key to Nike surviving *and* beating the competition. Hold on to your fuckin’ hats when I spoil this by telling you, yes, Jordan signed with Nike and the resulting shoe line known as “Air Jordan” went on to gross billions for everyone involved.

As to why I would be interested in watching some rich mofos get richer over some fuckin’ shoes that are most famous to me as being the kind of shoes people would shoot each other over, well, I wasn’t, not really anyway.

Sure, it’s directed by Ben Affleck, who I think is actually a good director (I still haven’t seen LIVE BY NIGHT, though), and it stars Matt Damon and a bunch of other people I didn’t know were in this. But still, why would I care to watch a movie about how a shoe that people would pay money hand-over-fist while neglecting their rent or child support payments — while goofing on the cheaper footwear worn by those who own a house and take care of their kids — came to be?

May be an image of 1 person and eyewear

I wouldn’t.

But I had a very nice steak dinner that I washed down with an entire bottle of Cabernet (I buy my sneakers at Big 5), and I certainly couldn’t drive in my condition. So I took a Lyft to a nearby movie theater where I sure as fuck wasn’t going to watch the fuckin’ plumber cartoon, so AIR it was.

It’s really good!

I think Tom Cruise really did something to Hollywood with his Xenu magic; from TOP GUN: MAVERICK onwards, I’ve been surprised by the increased frequency of old-school popcorn good times that have been hitting the big screen, like DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES. This is the latest; a JERRY MAGUIRE for those who ain’t got time for the lovey-dovey bullshit or that weirdo kid with the head-weight obsession.

You will have to get any potential chips off your shoulder about the worshipping of athletes, as well as let go of any issues with the capitalist system of these great United States, if you intend to find any enjoyment from this. Because I don’t know what fantasy version of this film you are hoping for that would shit on both those things as some kind of cynical treatise, but this ain’t it.

Instead you have an audience-pleaser starring Matt Damon as Vaccaro; I’m looking at him and thinking “Hey, I might be OK because Jason Bourne and I are both in the same shape” and then everybody else in the movie proceeds to call him fat. He’s obsessed with signing Jordan, and tries to convince Nike co-founder Phil Knight (Affleck) to pony up all the endorsement budget on him only, and it’s all very entertaining and even funny at times, for what amounts to people talking in offices of various sizes.

I was surprised by some of the actors who popped up in this, but you won’t be, because either you saw the trailer or because you’re about to read the following: Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Jay Mohr, Chris Tucker (who seems to have a good thing going for him by only showing up every ten years or so to play a supporting role in critically acclaimed films), and Chris Messina, who by virtue of having co-starred with The Adorable Amy Adams *twice*, makes him A-OK with me.

The movie worships Michael Jordan, which makes sense considering the context.

Here’s a man who is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, who took a struggling shoe company with him to the stratosphere, grossing billions upon billions. Shit, why *wouldn’t* this film suck him off and portray him as some kind of religious entity, even going as far as to not show his face, as if he were the Prophet Muhammad?

I’m fine with all that. What I’m not fine with is that at no point did I get to hear him say “Fuck them kids”, and that’s how a movie *doesn’t* get five stars on Letterboxd. For the Silo, E.F. Contentment.

Have you seen this movie? Are you planning on watching it? Leave us your comments below.

Fashion And Technology Connect At New York Fashion Week

What would it be like to listen in on a discussion on new materials/textiles by a director at NASA, an entrepreneur focusing on branding for dogs and an international superstar in fashion? It may sound odd at first thought, however, in the fashion industry today everyone is linked through technology – which nowadays is every brand’s biggest competitor.

Marcelo & Jordana Guimaraes (husband and wife) are the founders of FASHINNOVATION – an event bringing the thought leaders in the fashion and technology industries in front of an audience to discuss topics including production/manufacturing, sustainability, textiles/technology, branding/design, e-commerce, celebrities in fashion and “fashion-tech on the rise”(startups). These conversations will take place in moderated panels sharing a common goal: to spark the entrepreneurial mindset through inspiration and knowledge.

FASHINNOVATION New York Flyer

FASHINNOVATION will take place during New York Fashion Week on September 12th, 2018.
“I’ve been involved in the entrepreneurial eco-system throughout my life – always with a focus on technology. The challenge with the fashion and technology industries, is having them always inter connected to have a finger on the pulse of the latest innovations – making things exciting and thought provoking. With the merge of ideas, the outcome is unimaginable” says Founder, Marcelo Guimaraes.

A look back at an earlier NYC Fashion week show-

Confirmed to participate are: Vice President of Shopify/Co-Founder of Shopify Plus – Loren Padelford, Co-Founder of Ministry of Supply – Gihan Amarasiriwardena, Global Fashion Industry Leader & Partner at IBM – Karl Haller, Best-Selling Author & Host of TV Show: Elevator Pitch – David Meltzer, Designer/Founder at Kris Harring – Kris Harrington, Co-Founder of Bolt Threads – David Breslauer, Fashion Designer (Project Runway season 11 & All Stars) – Layana Aguilar, Art Creative for MAC make-up & Fenti by Rihanna – Jason Naylor, Founders of HICKIES (collaboration w/ DVF) – Mariquel Waingarten & Gaston Frydlewski, Co-Founder of M.Gemi – Ben Fischman, Executive Director at FIT’s Infor Design and Tech Lab – Michael Ferraro, Co-Founder of Universal Standard – Alexandra Waldman, Founders of Haerfest – Tim & Dan Joo, Founder of ByBorre (NIKE & Louis Vuitton collabs)– Borre Akkersdijk, Founder of Zee Dog – Thadeu Diz, Co-Founder of WindowsWear – Jon Harari, Program Executive at NASA – Jenn Gustetic and Founder of Fashion Tech Consortium – Michael Reidbord. Institutions in participation include Singularity University (NYC Chapter) and Endeavor. Part of all proceeds will be donated to NFTE.

“It’s exciting to see the positive feedback on FASHINNOVATION from leaders in the fashion and tech industries. We have additional confirmations on the way ranging from fashion personalities to platinum record superstars – the eclectic mix of people and companies participating, will ensure that everyone who attends walks away with knowledge that is unmatched” says Co-Founder & PR Director Jordana Guimaraes.

The event will resume with a cocktail networking reception, with live performances by: “violin superstar” who’s performed w/ Beyonce, etc. – Ezinma and singer/songwriter Heather LaRose – recently hitting 1 million streams online & best known for her song “New Moon” featured on MTV’s “Teen Wolf”.