Jamie Thomas's new shoe company?

[ToySanta]

Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

At the very least, Straye hooks up Antwuan when no one else would. He loyal to em too, so I hope they’re payin his bills well too!

They’d a crushed it at Hot Topic in 2003 tho.

[JM]

Expand Quote

Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

At the very least, Straye hooks up Antwuan when no one else would. He loyal to em too, so I hope they’re payin his bills well too!

They’d a crushed it at Hot Topic in 2003 tho.

Yeah they would. Probably not PacSun though…

[turbo 2.0]

Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

[JM]

Expand Quote

Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

The good: premium leather; basic, functional, clean design; the X (no big logo)
The bad: replicable, lots of competitors already the price: maybe too “middle ground”?

If it’s able to get hooked into a mainstream market somehow, there’s a shot it could do well…. Whether or not that D3 success within the normie crowd happens will be interesting to watch.

Maybe if he advertises in fashion and lifestyle mags. Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Warsaw. 

Not sure how much it would cost, but advertising might be super important if he wants more than the used-to-skate crowd. People who don’t know who he is and what he’s done in skating, might not want to spend “only” $110 on a shoe, when for $200 more could get premium ultra fine Italian leather (just guessing prices there).

Alf has Savale, and maybe him and Jamie talked.

There is something to perceived luxury and perceived sub-optimal quality based on the price alone. (“You get what you pay for”)

We’ll see. This first year will be interesting.

[turbo 2.0]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

[close]

The good: premium leather; basic, functional, clean design; the X (no big logo)
The bad: replicable, lots of competitors already the price: maybe too “middle ground”?

If it’s able to get hooked into a mainstream market somehow, there’s a shot it could do well…. Whether or not that D3 success within the normie crowd happens will be interesting to watch.

Maybe if he advertises in fashion and lifestyle mags. Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Warsaw. 

Not sure how much it would cost, but advertising might be super important if he wants more than the used-to-skate crowd. People who don’t know who he is and what he’s done in skating, might not want to spend “only” $110 on a shoe, when for $200 more could get premium ultra fine Italian leather (just guessing prices there).

Alf has Savale, and maybe him and Jamie talked.

There is something to perceived luxury and perceived sub-optimal quality based on the price alone. (“You get what you pay for”)

We’ll see. This first year will be interesting.

I think hammering the luxury angle might be his best shot here. There’s a lot of skate shoe options in the hundred dollar range, what reason is there to go with Warsaw over anything else?

Pull the luxury angle, yeah, you might be on to something. The main problem I see is that none of the product seems to have any identity. If you want to make that work, your company has to have a very strong, very solid identity and I’m just not getting that right now. Honestly, from what I’ve seen it appears half baked and not thought through much, if at all.

Like you said, we’ll see. Plenty of things end up being profitable that I thought for sure would end up going nowhere. I guess the one prediction I feel confident in would be that the majority of money this company stands to make won’t be from the skateboarding crowd. But we’ll see.

[thehogsniper]

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Expand Quote

Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

[close]

The good: premium leather; basic, functional, clean design; the X (no big logo)
The bad: replicable, lots of competitors already the price: maybe too “middle ground”?

If it’s able to get hooked into a mainstream market somehow, there’s a shot it could do well…. Whether or not that D3 success within the normie crowd happens will be interesting to watch.

Maybe if he advertises in fashion and lifestyle mags. Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Warsaw. 

Not sure how much it would cost, but advertising might be super important if he wants more than the used-to-skate crowd. People who don’t know who he is and what he’s done in skating, might not want to spend “only” $110 on a shoe, when for $200 more could get premium ultra fine Italian leather (just guessing prices there).

Alf has Savale, and maybe him and Jamie talked.

There is something to perceived luxury and perceived sub-optimal quality based on the price alone. (“You get what you pay for”)

We’ll see. This first year will be interesting.

[close]

I think hammering the luxury angle might be his best shot here. There’s a lot of skate shoe options in the hundred dollar range, what reason is there to go with Warsaw over anything else?

Pull the luxury angle, yeah, you might be on to something. The main problem I see is that none of the product seems to have any identity. If you want to make that work, your company has to have a very strong, very solid identity and I’m just not getting that right now. Honestly, from what I’ve seen it appears half baked and not thought through much, if at all.

Like you said, we’ll see. Plenty of things end up being profitable that I thought for sure would end up going nowhere. I guess the one prediction I feel confident in would be that the majority of money this company stands to make won’t be from the skateboarding crowd. But we’ll see.

that idea was tried by the original team behind last resort when they first were coming to market and it had absolutely zero support from skate shops and zero support from luxury shops. they tried to market it as lifestyle shoes made in portugal. but, luxury is drying up and a lot of those shops they approached are dead. it was a disaster for LRAB until pontus came in, and I can't see why jamie would somehow appeal to non-skaters. it's a market that you guys think exists but really doesn't.

[Sila]

Lol everyone jumping the gun a bit. There's loads of these plain shoes in the "luxury" shoe world too. They won't make the slightest dent. Maybe wait and see if they even hold up after being skated a few times. They look cheap.

[Southernmost]

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Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

[close]

The good: premium leather; basic, functional, clean design; the X (no big logo)
The bad: replicable, lots of competitors already the price: maybe too “middle ground”?

If it’s able to get hooked into a mainstream market somehow, there’s a shot it could do well…. Whether or not that D3 success within the normie crowd happens will be interesting to watch.

Maybe if he advertises in fashion and lifestyle mags. Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Warsaw.

Not sure how much it would cost, but advertising might be super important if he wants more than the used-to-skate crowd. People who don’t know who he is and what he’s done in skating, might not want to spend “only” $110 on a shoe, when for $200 more could get premium ultra fine Italian leather (just guessing prices there).

Alf has Savale, and maybe him and Jamie talked.

There is something to perceived luxury and perceived sub-optimal quality based on the price alone. (“You get what you pay for”)

We’ll see. This first year will be interesting.

I see what you’re saying but let’s be realistic. Those luxury companies spend millions of dollars in marketing and they’ve been around for 100 years. They’re owned by billion dollar conglomerates. Unless JT somehow gets A List celebs or influencers to wear Warsaw, I don’t see him getting deep into that market. From the outside looking in it seems like the shoe market is struggling. Dunks and Jordan’s aren’t selling out instantly. You can always find NB# and Vans on sale. Sole tech is hanging on by threads. I rarely see LRAB anymore but it could be regional or a different demographic. I think Warsaw can exist but I don’t see it getting big.

[moonordie]

Tell me you're stupid without telling me you're stupid.

[Lou Strux]

Lol everyone jumping the gun a bit. There's loads of these plain shoes in the "luxury" shoe world too. They won't make the slightest dent. Maybe wait and see if they even hold up after being skated a few times. They look cheap.

Cheap AF.
Thin-ass sole having MFs.

[FunisLow]

I don’t think this brand should aim for the luxury market; the shoes just don’t have that luxury feel, and I think that market is foreign to Jamie as well. It seems to me that he wants to do something more authentic with this brand.

I started skating about 20 years ago, and back then, there wasn’t an older demographic like there is now. Skate products could only be sold to the younger crowd. Those who stopped skating completely lost their connection and interest in skateboarding.

Now, there’s an older generation that has grown up and no longer skates actively, but they’re still interested in the skateboarding world: they collect shoes and boards, attend events and contests, and buy art books. This is something seen in other areas too—like sneakerheads, vinyl collectors, or NES game collectors, etc. I think this group is growing, and it’s no longer embarrassing for a 40+-year-old to tell another adult at a garden party, “Look, I don’t care about soccer, I’m into skateboarding.” This group has purchasing power, but they have their own specific preferences, and I see that Jamie is trying to target them. He’s aiming to create classic, clean, understated, high-quality, and not-too-expensive products in relatively limited quantities, and just as important, products that are collectible. The fact that he did his first collaboration with Ed really reinforces this, because Ed’s name resonates with this crowd (too). He’s from the same era as Jamie, and if I remember correctly, only Ed’s shoes will come with dust bags (for collectors), and there will be limited-edition boards as well. It’s likely that Jamie is drawing heavily on his Garage Days experience.

As for the boutiques: for a startup brand that isn’t well-known yet, and whose future depends greatly on how many products they can sell from the first drop, it’s completely understandable. Since we’re talking about a brand that’s partly lifestyle-focused, it fits well into the product range of these boutiques. This could also be a test to gauge which demographic responds best to the brand, and in the future, they can shift focus accordingly.

[roba]

why are you so passionate about this

[thehogsniper]

I don’t think this brand should aim for the luxury market; the shoes just don’t have that luxury feel, and I think that market is foreign to Jamie as well. It seems to me that he wants to do something more authentic with this brand.

I started skating about 20 years ago, and back then, there wasn’t an older demographic like there is now. Skate products could only be sold to the younger crowd. Those who stopped skating completely lost their connection and interest in skateboarding.

Now, there’s an older generation that has grown up and no longer skates actively, but they’re still interested in the skateboarding world: they collect shoes and boards, attend events and contests, and buy art books. This is something seen in other areas too—like sneakerheads, vinyl collectors, or NES game collectors, etc. I think this group is growing, and it’s no longer embarrassing for a 40+-year-old to tell another adult at a garden party, “Look, I don’t care about soccer, I’m into skateboarding.” This group has purchasing power, but they have their own specific preferences, and I see that Jamie is trying to target them. He’s aiming to create classic, clean, understated, high-quality, and not-too-expensive products in relatively limited quantities, and just as important, products that are collectible. The fact that he did his first collaboration with Ed really reinforces this, because Ed’s name resonates with this crowd (too). He’s from the same era as Jamie, and if I remember correctly, only Ed’s shoes will come with dust bags (for collectors), and there will be limited-edition boards as well. It’s likely that Jamie is drawing heavily on his Garage Days experience.

As for the boutiques: for a startup brand that isn’t well-known yet, and whose future depends greatly on how many products they can sell from the first drop, it’s completely understandable. Since we’re talking about a brand that’s partly lifestyle-focused, it fits well into the product range of these boutiques. This could also be a test to gauge which demographic responds best to the brand, and in the future, they can shift focus accordingly.

problem is that we have brands that already are off the ground and are selling almost the exact same product as War Saw. Hours and LRAB have distribution and contracts with retailers, while offering the exact same style of shoe. This isn't something that anyone was asking for nor something that fills a marketplace need. Also, in my experience, the oldheads want their stuff to be accurate to what they grew up with. All three of those identified collector groups attach nostalgia to their consumer habits, but rarely are you going find a sneakerhead buying the newest Lebron model. JT and Ed are nice guys, but they're far from enough to push a footwear company into relevancy. Luxury boutiques are NOT an option.

[FunisLow]

why are you so passionate about this

I'm not a fan of it, maybe I just understand it and find this attempt interesting. I'm curious to see how the fate of this brand will unfold. Just because I can't fully identify with something or I'm not the target audience, it doesn't mean I will hate it or wish for it to fail. Most people try to look at this initiative from one perspective; I'm just trying to offer a different one.
Anyway, this forum would be pretty boring if everyone just agreed: I hate it! Me too! Fuckyeah!

[Mr.Jenkins]

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Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

[close]

The good: premium leather; basic, functional, clean design; the X (no big logo)
The bad: replicable, lots of competitors already the price: maybe too “middle ground”?

If it’s able to get hooked into a mainstream market somehow, there’s a shot it could do well…. Whether or not that D3 success within the normie crowd happens will be interesting to watch.

Maybe if he advertises in fashion and lifestyle mags. Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Warsaw. 

Not sure how much it would cost, but advertising might be super important if he wants more than the used-to-skate crowd. People who don’t know who he is and what he’s done in skating, might not want to spend “only” $110 on a shoe, when for $200 more could get premium ultra fine Italian leather (just guessing prices there).

Alf has Savale, and maybe him and Jamie talked.

There is something to perceived luxury and perceived sub-optimal quality based on the price alone. (“You get what you pay for”)

We’ll see. This first year will be interesting.

[close]

I think hammering the luxury angle might be his best shot here. There’s a lot of skate shoe options in the hundred dollar range, what reason is there to go with Warsaw over anything else?

Pull the luxury angle, yeah, you might be on to something. The main problem I see is that none of the product seems to have any identity. If you want to make that work, your company has to have a very strong, very solid identity and I’m just not getting that right now. Honestly, from what I’ve seen it appears half baked and not thought through much, if at all.

Like you said, we’ll see. Plenty of things end up being profitable that I thought for sure would end up going nowhere. I guess the one prediction I feel confident in would be that the majority of money this company stands to make won’t be from the skateboarding crowd. But we’ll see.

[close]

that idea was tried by the original team behind last resort when they first were coming to market and it had absolutely zero support from skate shops and zero support from luxury shops. they tried to market it as lifestyle shoes made in portugal. but, luxury is drying up and a lot of those shops they approached are dead. it was a disaster for LRAB until pontus came in, and I can't see why jamie would somehow appeal to non-skaters. it's a market that you guys think exists but really doesn't.

To be fair, when Sami had 3-3-10, as it was called, it wasnt skatefocused at all. He did have some traction in japan and such, which seems something he still nurture. Shoes was great to, have a few pairs. Really Really comfy and actually premium materials.

[devils acrobat]

Why are people buying "luxury" brands in the first place? A) to own a product made from truly luxurious materials and/or B) to show off some brand name that others recognize to be exclusive/expensive. Both options do not apply to ISUCKs new venture. The only thing that is interesting to me is that the name reads "was raw" backwards. Would be a much better brand name especially if he wants to market to older guys that reminisce about the good ol' (and potentially raw) days.

[roba]

was raw, now he's fried

[streetmeat]

as soon as he started talking about them being targeted to the person wanting to wear a skate shoe to a wedding it instantly became cooked

[FunisLow]

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I don’t think this brand should aim for the luxury market; the shoes just don’t have that luxury feel, and I think that market is foreign to Jamie as well. It seems to me that he wants to do something more authentic with this brand.

I started skating about 20 years ago, and back then, there wasn’t an older demographic like there is now. Skate products could only be sold to the younger crowd. Those who stopped skating completely lost their connection and interest in skateboarding.

Now, there’s an older generation that has grown up and no longer skates actively, but they’re still interested in the skateboarding world: they collect shoes and boards, attend events and contests, and buy art books. This is something seen in other areas too—like sneakerheads, vinyl collectors, or NES game collectors, etc. I think this group is growing, and it’s no longer embarrassing for a 40+-year-old to tell another adult at a garden party, “Look, I don’t care about soccer, I’m into skateboarding.” This group has purchasing power, but they have their own specific preferences, and I see that Jamie is trying to target them. He’s aiming to create classic, clean, understated, high-quality, and not-too-expensive products in relatively limited quantities, and just as important, products that are collectible. The fact that he did his first collaboration with Ed really reinforces this, because Ed’s name resonates with this crowd (too). He’s from the same era as Jamie, and if I remember correctly, only Ed’s shoes will come with dust bags (for collectors), and there will be limited-edition boards as well. It’s likely that Jamie is drawing heavily on his Garage Days experience.

As for the boutiques: for a startup brand that isn’t well-known yet, and whose future depends greatly on how many products they can sell from the first drop, it’s completely understandable. Since we’re talking about a brand that’s partly lifestyle-focused, it fits well into the product range of these boutiques. This could also be a test to gauge which demographic responds best to the brand, and in the future, they can shift focus accordingly.

[close]

problem is that we have brands that already are off the ground and are selling almost the exact same product as War Saw. Hours and LRAB have distribution and contracts with retailers, while offering the exact same style of shoe. This isn't something that anyone was asking for nor something that fills a marketplace need. Also, in my experience, the oldheads want their stuff to be accurate to what they grew up with. All three of those identified collector groups attach nostalgia to their consumer habits, but rarely are you going find a sneakerhead buying the newest Lebron model. JT and Ed are nice guys, but they're far from enough to push a footwear company into relevancy. Luxury boutiques are NOT an option.

I think Last Resort is already well-established in the market, but I wouldn't compare these two brands because they offer completely different things, with different messages and target audiences.

Hours is closer to War Saw (even in appearance), but why can't there be two similar brands in the market? It's normal for companies to compete (so no one gets too comfortable in their position), and this forces them to offer something more or better, or to give back more to the community, for example, they support certain events, competitions, artists (like Ed), or by being more sustainable and transparent.

By the way, Hours’ models resemble dress shoes (loafers) more, while War Saw’s models seem more casual to me. It’s possible that the models of these two brands will differ even more in the future. Jamie mentioned something about wanting to create a model inspired by hiking shoes. The current models were a safe choice for him to start with. We'll see. I also agree that a luxury boutique isn't an option, that's more HRS’s territory.

What people collect and what they wear are two completely different things. People who collect decks and old shoes don’t necessarily wear Osiris D3s to work (as you can’t spot NES collectors on the street because they don’t wear Mario hats).

[moonordie]

Stfu Jamie

[Texas_Tone]

I wish I was as passionate about anything as much as funisslow is about JT’s wack ass shoe brand

[FunisLow]

I wish I was as passionate about anything as much as funisslow is about JT’s wack ass shoe brand

You have no idea how hard it is to stand up for this position all by myself! 

[thehogsniper]

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I don’t think this brand should aim for the luxury market; the shoes just don’t have that luxury feel, and I think that market is foreign to Jamie as well. It seems to me that he wants to do something more authentic with this brand.

I started skating about 20 years ago, and back then, there wasn’t an older demographic like there is now. Skate products could only be sold to the younger crowd. Those who stopped skating completely lost their connection and interest in skateboarding.

Now, there’s an older generation that has grown up and no longer skates actively, but they’re still interested in the skateboarding world: they collect shoes and boards, attend events and contests, and buy art books. This is something seen in other areas too—like sneakerheads, vinyl collectors, or NES game collectors, etc. I think this group is growing, and it’s no longer embarrassing for a 40+-year-old to tell another adult at a garden party, “Look, I don’t care about soccer, I’m into skateboarding.” This group has purchasing power, but they have their own specific preferences, and I see that Jamie is trying to target them. He’s aiming to create classic, clean, understated, high-quality, and not-too-expensive products in relatively limited quantities, and just as important, products that are collectible. The fact that he did his first collaboration with Ed really reinforces this, because Ed’s name resonates with this crowd (too). He’s from the same era as Jamie, and if I remember correctly, only Ed’s shoes will come with dust bags (for collectors), and there will be limited-edition boards as well. It’s likely that Jamie is drawing heavily on his Garage Days experience.

As for the boutiques: for a startup brand that isn’t well-known yet, and whose future depends greatly on how many products they can sell from the first drop, it’s completely understandable. Since we’re talking about a brand that’s partly lifestyle-focused, it fits well into the product range of these boutiques. This could also be a test to gauge which demographic responds best to the brand, and in the future, they can shift focus accordingly.

[close]

problem is that we have brands that already are off the ground and are selling almost the exact same product as War Saw. Hours and LRAB have distribution and contracts with retailers, while offering the exact same style of shoe. This isn't something that anyone was asking for nor something that fills a marketplace need. Also, in my experience, the oldheads want their stuff to be accurate to what they grew up with. All three of those identified collector groups attach nostalgia to their consumer habits, but rarely are you going find a sneakerhead buying the newest Lebron model. JT and Ed are nice guys, but they're far from enough to push a footwear company into relevancy. Luxury boutiques are NOT an option.

[close]

I think Last Resort is already well-established in the market, but I wouldn't compare these two brands because they offer completely different things, with different messages and target audiences.

Hours is closer to War Saw (even in appearance), but why can't there be two similar brands in the market? It's normal for companies to compete (so no one gets too comfortable in their position), and this forces them to offer something more or better, or to give back more to the community, for example, they support certain events, competitions, artists (like Ed), or by being more sustainable and transparent.

By the way, Hours’ models resemble dress shoes (loafers) more, while War Saw’s models seem more casual to me. It’s possible that the models of these two brands will differ even more in the future. Jamie mentioned something about wanting to create a model inspired by hiking shoes. The current models were a safe choice for him to start with. We'll see. I also agree that a luxury boutique isn't an option, that's more HRS’s territory.

What people collect and what they wear are two completely different things. People who collect decks and old shoes don’t necessarily wear Osiris D3s to work (as you can’t spot NES collectors on the street because they don’t wear Mario hats).

Last Resort and Hours offer the exact same hi top vulc, it's literally the same shoe that Warsaw is offering. Warsaw doesn't have any "messaging", it's just JT on a podcast for two and a half hours and a handful of Instagram posts. There isn't even a pro team. I fail to see how any of these three brands appeal to OG skate collectors other than he brought Ed Templeton in for a collab.

[turbo 2.0]

Expand Quote

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Anyone care for a conversation about this venture and its potential for success or failure?  I have thoughts.

It’s an interesting concept and I always thought he designed good, functional skate shoes. And now he’s designing for the old people who can’t sk8 gud no more, and have extra money to burn from their 9-5.

Except Straye…  WTF was that. Yuck.

[close]

It’s just hard for me to see this getting off the ground. The niche it’s trying to occupy is already occupied. You can try and reinvent the wheel as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you still have a wheel.

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground? I’m sure he hopes so, but the likelihood doesn’t seem high.

We’ll have to wait and see the actual drop to see what we’re really working with, but if he doesn’t do something to set this apart, I don’t see it going anywhere.

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The good: premium leather; basic, functional, clean design; the X (no big logo)
The bad: replicable, lots of competitors already the price: maybe too “middle ground”?

If it’s able to get hooked into a mainstream market somehow, there’s a shot it could do well…. Whether or not that D3 success within the normie crowd happens will be interesting to watch.

Maybe if he advertises in fashion and lifestyle mags. Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Warsaw.

Not sure how much it would cost, but advertising might be super important if he wants more than the used-to-skate crowd. People who don’t know who he is and what he’s done in skating, might not want to spend “only” $110 on a shoe, when for $200 more could get premium ultra fine Italian leather (just guessing prices there).

Alf has Savale, and maybe him and Jamie talked.

There is something to perceived luxury and perceived sub-optimal quality based on the price alone. (“You get what you pay for”)

We’ll see. This first year will be interesting.

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I see what you’re saying but let’s be realistic. Those luxury companies spend millions of dollars in marketing and they’ve been around for 100 years. They’re owned by billion dollar conglomerates. Unless JT somehow gets A List celebs or influencers to wear Warsaw, I don’t see him getting deep into that market. From the outside looking in it seems like the shoe market is struggling. Dunks and Jordan’s aren’t selling out instantly. You can always find NB# and Vans on sale. Sole tech is hanging on by threads. I rarely see LRAB anymore but it could be regional or a different demographic. I think Warsaw can exist but I don’t see it getting big.

Yeah, I think what some people are missing is that I’m being extremely generous here. To reiterate, the only way this goes anywhere is if JT gets extremely lucky. Stranger things have happened.

That being said, I see no way it happens. It’s just fun to think about the other side of it, where somehow it works out. Do I think there’s even a remote chance this works out for him? Nah, not really.

[Francis Xavier]

[JM]

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I wish I was as passionate about anything as much as funisslow is about JT’s wack ass shoe brand

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You have no idea how hard it is to stand up for this position all by myself! 

I wouldn’t say I’m against it. I’m just a passive observer that’s actually thinks I might really dig having a skate-adjacent shoe with premium material.

I almost pulled trigger on some Savale’s because I like shoe design and for whatever reason, maybe a psychologist or sociologist could study this in people, it’s really attractive to have a soft leather on some well designed shoes.  It’s like wearing a fine crafted piece of art? That is also utilitarian?  Theories….

That is all to say the shoes are alluring to an old fogey like me that has a bit of a shoe collection to cycle through the week at work whenever the desire strikes.

(Sorry, I can’t skate much or as well anymore. I have to find addictions elsewhere… so sadly I would really consider myself a “die-hard” skater. More like a “I’ll take whatever the hell I can get” skater)

Oh… and it’s kind of funny that Slap is not going to be helping sell this shoe very much. lol

[big_kev_215]

as soon as he started talking about them being targeted to the person wanting to wear a skate shoe to a wedding it instantly became cooked

I believe he mentioned wear a funeral too haha. If someone shows up to my funeral in Warsaws, I’m going to haunt them from behind the grave for the remainder of their lifetime

[GreenLineAcid]

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You all are a bunch of sourpusses. Jaimie is cool his shoes kinda look like vans without the branding but they look better and I imagine have better materials. If you don’t like his shoes why not just not buy them instead of massive thread of shit towards somebody most of you have never met?  The hyprocrysim is ripe

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Relax Jamie

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prof_got_jokes   

[Watson]

I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground?

Yeah but the thing about Jamie Thomas fans is that they don't wear luxury pig suede vulcanized shoes with no logos. They want Circa and Emerica reissues. You can see it all over the comments when Jamie announced the brand.

And then in a couple years:

[Francis Xavier]

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I do see people supporting it simply because it’s Jamie Thomas, but is his name really enough to bring in enough money to keep the company off the ground?

[close]

Yeah but the thing about Jamie Thomas fans is that they don't wear luxury pig suede vulcanized shoes with no logos. They want Circa and Emerica reissues. You can see it all over the comments when Jamie announced the brand.

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And then in a couple years:

HAHAH EXACTLY