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Unboxed This Week: The SoleSavy Community Reflects on What Virgil Abloh Meant to Them
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While the world continues to process the loss of the great Virgil Abloh, SoleSavy members shared what he meant to them. RIP Virgil Abloh.
- How Crocs captivated sneakerheads
- The Nike Air Max Penny 1 "Orlando" returns
- Lawmakers are putting an end to bots
- The Air Jordan 11 "Cool Grey" is back this week
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| SoleSavy Speaks Up
What Virgil Abloh Means to Me  Tragically, this past week the world lost the incomparable Virgil Abloh to cancer. His mark on fashion, design, and culture is immeasurable. Virgil’s style and perspective were unique and all his own. A trailblazer, his passing has left a huge void in the world of his family, friends, fans, and admirers.
Sometimes while dealing with loss it can be therapeutic to
write down some words of what that person meant to you. For the latest installment of SoleSavy Speaks Up, we asked our community to share any stories, feelings, or thoughts they were having about Virgil. We appreciate everyone for taking the time to share some words and hope.
Read what the community had to say here.
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| Features
The 2001 Air Jordan 11 "Cool Grey": A Collector’s Odyssey  Michael Jordan was back on court, returning to the game as a member of the Washington Wizards. The 🐐 rocked the "Cool Grey" Air Jordan 11 Retro in NBA action, providing full-circle closure to OG fans who still may have felt sideways about copping a new colorway in a nostalgic silhouette.
The Air Jordan 11 "Cool Grey" releases
this week, two decades after the colorway changed the game. Learn more from Ian Stonebrook about the colorway, and what it means to collector's everywhere.
Read here.
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| Industry News
Lawmakers are Looking to Put an End to Bots with Proposed Bill  Democratic lawmakers have introduced a new bill that aims to put an end to bots.
U.S. Representative Paul Tonko, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senator Ben Ray Luján, and Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced the Stopping Grinch Bots Act ahead of the holiday season.
"Allowing grinch bots to rig prices and
squeeze consumers during the holiday season hurts American families, small business owners, product makers, and entrepreneurs." Rep. Tonko said. "We will not allow this market manipulation to go unchecked."
The bill will utilize the same methods and practices as the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016 introduced by former President Barack Obama and banned the use of bots through online ticketing websites. The Stopping Grinch Bots Act is more geared towards toys, but the bill will outlaw the use of bots on any online site, including sneaker retail stores.
Learn more about the proposed bill in detail here.
–Luis T.
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| Features
How Crocs Captivated Sneakerheads  Heading into the holiday season of 2021, Crocs have come full circle. The foam-injected clogs are no longer the outlier, they are the standard.
Kanye West has recreated the once scoffed at shoe in his own image by way of the Foam RNNR while menswear movements of runway and normcore have met in the middle by way of Mule Boyz. Famously, Salehe Bembury may have the project of the year by way
of his collaboration with Crocs.
Are Crocs forever? Few things are. But for now, we applaud the Colorado company that’s made footwear more fun, comfortable and affordable.
There’s no reason to hate on that.
Read more from Ian Stonebrook about the history of Crocs and its ascension to streetwear and sneaker culture here.
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| Opinion
Mattel’s Missed Opportunity with Aleali  Cold take: Aleali May is one of the best to do it when it comes to collaborations, and not just as a woman. Her style is unmatched, fusing sneakers and fashion and the audiences between the two. This past week, Aleali unveiled her partnership with Mattel that immortalizes her in Barbie form… sort of.
When Aleali dropped the campaign, the excitement was high (at least on my feeds and within the SoleSavy Women’s Community). It wasn’t until drop day that many of us realized that it does not come with an Aleali Barbie at all, but rather, an outfit that she designed and curated. Not even a doll! To our dismay, it did not include any sneakers either,
which actually makes sense when you consider licensing – I guess? The language was confusing because they led with imagery of a 1-of-1 Aleali Barbie (available for private auction) wearing her debut AJ1 collab, alongside imagery including her latest AJ14 Low "Fortune." The key words here were "inspired by."
This isn’t meant to downplay the collaboration at all, but the thought of having an Aleali May Barbie was just so exciting that anything other than that was going to be hard to live up to. Additionally, the set was a pre-order item, which to our knowledge, was not communicated. It ships in June 2022. Personally this feels like a miss: Mattel could have sold many, many units of this, especially given that Christmas is right there.
Will I be cancelling my multiple orders? No. Do I have to rethink my holiday gifts? Absolutely. On the bright side, we did compile a Women’s Holiday Gift Guide for some easy but thoughtful things you can pick up
at multiple price points.
To keep up with the latest in women’s news, stay tuned on Saturday mornings for our weekly recap series, ICYMI.
–Anna B.
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| Opinion
Why the Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX will be a Winter Staple  From the cold to slush to salt on the ground, it’s no lie that the colder months present challenges for sneakerheads. (Let’s be real, I’m always about wearing your shoes but salt is a sneaker’s worst enemy).
Luckily, Jordan Brand might have just provided us with the one sneaker that you’ll actually want to wear when it’s crappy out, the Air Jordan 1 Element GORE-TEX. JB has experimented with winterized versions of their models before, and GORE-TEX has put their offerings on other Nike models too, but this is the first time the two brands have collided on a shoe. And what’s better than the Air Jordan 1?
Hype rules a lot right now, but I personally love when brands provide us with functional & practical footwear. The fact that an iconic sneaker like the Jordan 1 has now been reworked to be durable, waterproof, and warm, makes this drop one of the best of 2021 for me. Gone are the days of selectively choosing what to wear when it’s gross out, because the AJ1 Element GORE-TEX is always going to be the answer.
If you missed out on the "Particle Grey" drop this weekend, keep an eye out for restocks via our monitors and the upcoming "Sail" colorway later this month.
–Juan H.
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🔵 The Nike Air Max Penny 1 "Orlando" Returns in 2022
The Swoosh is bringing back the Air Max Penny 1 in 2022 in its original "Orlando" colorway. Just like the original, the upcoming retro includes the black and white upper with its signature large Phylon wing midsole in white and complemented with a blue jeweled Swoosh. The shoe’s tongue includes an embroidered Swoosh in royal blue and the heel includes the iconic 1 Cent
logo. Learn more here.
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The shoe, created by an all-women team, was tailor-made specifically for the female foot and delivers unmatched energy return paired with a refined design for ultimate comfort. adidas’ team identified key differences to re-engineer the Ultraboost silhouette to reflect the female foot better. Read here.
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The female-focused collection is rooted in Ambrose’s philosophy that life is a sport, style is the game, and basketball is a vibe. Ambrose incorporated athletic and physical elements of the game into the collection to underscore how women are consistently winning, playing the game of life, and staying on top of their daily grind in all the positions they hold. Learn more here.
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With the holidays right around the corner, we know how tough it can be shopping for loved ones. And for the women in your life, well, let’s say you may want to be more strategic. While these can obviously be gifted to any sneakerhead, the women of SoleSavy have come together to curate some ideas for you, at every price point. Read here.
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| Style
The Only pair of Pants You’ll Ever Need to Fly In  If you’re traveling this holiday season, there’s one pair of pants that stand above the rest - Issey Miyake Homme Plissé Pleated pants.
When it comes to flying, or any form of travel really, comfort is and always has been paramount. And as much as we want to be idealistic and say we get the same service / treatment when we’re wearing your favorite pair
of sweatpants on the plane, that’s just not the case. Enter pleats, they are just as comfortable, if not more, than sweats, and they still maintain the elegance of trousers. There’s a different kind of comfort with them, they just move with you thanks to the elasticity of the waist band, as well as the nature of the pleats themselves. Of course, they also look so damn good with just about anything you can throw on.
You can get them at most retailers now like SSENSE, or you can proxy one in from Japan, which you’d know how to do if you were a member 😉
–Dean H.
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👟 SNEAKERS TO BUY FOR RETAIL OR LESS
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Nike Air Force 1 Low $110
One of the community’s favorite AF1s this year, and for good reason. With a great mix of materials and an uber easy colorway to wear make this another sleeper shoe from Nike.
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Nike Air Max 95 $160
Inspired by a retro track team in the 70s, we are loving the details on these new Air Max 95s. The iconic foam tongue makes its return to the 95, and it couldn’t be any better.
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Fear Of God California $195
No introduction needed, Jerry Lorenzo’s foray into the #mulement was a runaway hit. A great piece of footwear to give your sneakers a break this season, as long as it’s dry.
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Reebok Beatnik $120
One of the coziest things you can put on your feet this season are beatniks. This version even comes with puffer-like material to match your North Face Nuptse.
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F U N F A C T
In 1981, NASA's first space shuttle mission, Space Shuttle Columbia, carried astronauts wearing spacesuits made with GORE-TEX fabric.
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 Unboxed by SoleSavy Learn from industry insiders, access tools to level-up your sneaker collection, and tap into a like-minded community you can trust.
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