Rule One: The product comes first.

The US Open is so concerned about having their viral moments that they forgot the main principle, which is that the product has to come first. So in this case, it’s Naomi Osakas serve. Not her having to wait for your talent to get their perfect shot. Which I bet they didn’t post because these shots weren’t perfect, just loud. These influencers, seemed to have all access. Meaning they treated a grand slam, like a TikTok Wonderland. No area was off limits, resulting in their respect for the sport, also being nowhere to be seen.

Rule Two: Have a fucking plan.

There was clearly no brief or real plan as to what each influencer was going to capture. Or what narratives would be pushed to different audiences.

For OCSC, ‘influencers’ were a non-negotiable from above. So I made it work. We had different sections that we were selling to different demographics. So we made sure that the Mommy bloggers - again, not where I would choose to put money, were sitting in the family friendly section. Making sure they know the moments of the match via a run sheet, that we had special activations in that section. These people didn’t know that a soccer match is often 0-0. So we had entertainment for the kids who just wanted to see something.

For the millennials that we created a date night pack for, we made sure they had the romantic view of the beautiful stadium and sunset background, you’d get to experience.

The follower count didn’t mean anything to me. Often it put me off, as it meant harder to deal with for less return.

Rule Three: Authenticity sells. Follower counts don’t.

And I have the receipts to prove it. Ambassadors who were interested in soccer before they worked with us outperformed and outsold the mommy bloggers with 10x the following.

I do believe that ambassadors programs can work. They just need to have a plan that is both consistent and genuine. For example, if you are a running brand, partner with an athlete that feels on brand but create a plan that takes us on the journey of his training schedule before a big race. Don’t just show up on race day and expect to medal.

As always,
Thanks for reading.

Hayden

PS: For my Aussie audience.. you might have noticed this with the NFL game this week.. Send me back your best examples of influencers trying to influence with zero purpose.

We know why these changes are happening. LVMH are not investing in a brand to keep it small. They want scale and that means more new customers and more products for everyone to buy. They want to get all the juice out. This is the familiar cycle of commercial growth being prioritised over quality. Teddy Santis said he wanted to be the next Ralph Lauren, I guess none of us took it seriously.

One thing I do know, the Winter season is what ALD does best. Excessive layering, products designed like LEGO, built to be stacked together. My favourite piece below.

If you go back to the roots of the brand, it wasn’t about the product. “When you’re buying into ALD, you’re buying into a world — you’re buying into a perspective more than a garment.” - Teddy Santis.

Clothing just happened to be the vehicle that made the most sense for him to share his inspiration from references with people who enjoy the same things. The same world is still there. The art direction is still the best of the best. The details are still top tier. Of all the Jordan collections.. who selects the 9 Powder blues to style their talent? A shoe originally debuted in 1994.

Simply put, it’s a brand that makes you feel something and transports you somewhere.

For me it’s a feeling of classiness. A feeling of nostalgia & warmth. You go to any of the stores and sure the staff may not be extremely friendly, but with Mos Def playing, incense burning, the soft lighting, and often some old Jordan or 90s Knicks highlights, it feels like you’re in your dream house. Then you’re off to Greece for the summer campaigns, a nod to his roots. Maybe it’s just I’m in Greece next month.. but I’m expecting my trip to look like their look books.

I know people are saying they sold out but there hasn’t ever been a brand that I resonate with more than ALD. Until the inspiration of the brand changes completely, I’ll still find myself attending the shows, even the stadium ones. Majority of the crowd will be there wanting the radio hits and I’ll still be hoping for the b-sides, remembering why I’m here in the first place.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

An example. I’ve only been to Queens, New York a handful of times. Once to see a friend’s apartment and music studio, and other times for food or just passing through. But when I think of Queens, New York.. I think of Aime Leon Dore. (I do think they should have a retail / creative hub in Queens, but that’s a point for another time.) It makes me think of a diverse city, and even the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows. When I think of Barcelona, I think of Nude Project (their socials are fantastic if you don’t already follow)..

So when I think of London.. these are the brands that I think of..

Palace The most London of the lot. Palace are the Supreme of this city, and I mean that as the compliment it used to universally be. The Supreme that’s untouchable, not the version people love to talk shit about today. Started as a skate brand, and used a weekly product drop to control demand and continue to build hype. Stores are now extremely beautiful but very skate. One even has a fountain with a cupid pissing.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Studio Nicholson A no-nonsense clothing brand that revolves around a fabric-first approach. “The idea for Studio Nicholson lies in making every day and commonplace garments exceptionally beautiful and flawlessly modern.” Every piece feels built for the city and whatever the day throws at it. Sitting in London Fields, Lime Biking across town, pints on the street outside a Soho pub. Made for anyone, but in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Paynter Jackets A favourite of mine for a long time, even a constant point of reference for clients on the benefits of building a brand in public. I believe they were ahead of the game, some of the best to do it. Their care for the planet, their products and their customers, is unlike any brand I have come across. They have a lifelong fan, and more importantly, customer, in me. Even if you want to buy product right now, chances are you won’t be able to due to their business model and releasing 4 products per year.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Martine Rose There’s something about the way MR blurs gender that feels distinctly London to me. Oversized tailoring, sportswear cuts, pieces that move just as easily on a man or a woman. That genderless approach pulls straight from rave and club culture, where what you wore was about the night and the energy in the room, not what section of the store it came from. Her Nike collaborations bring that same feeling into product everyone actually recognizes. Football casual meets club culture meets proper tailoring. A very North London point of view, and one of the more interesting perspectives working right now.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

A-Cold-Wall ACW has become a brand I’d call too cool for myself, but one I always check in on. Framed as sportswear, but explicitly referencing post-war British class and culture, they’ve built a lane no one else is really in. As much as I hate to say it, their collab with Arsenal was top tier.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Cawley Studio A brand most may not expect to see on this list from me, but I do love old traditional styles. Cawley Studio takes a modern approach, with updated silhouettes and some genuinely interesting fabric choices on classic designs. Look no further than the Flying Jacket, inspired by vintage aviation jackets, but instead of a tight fit, it’s boxier, made to be layered.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Cole Buxton Luxury British Sportswear, inspired by heritage. I hope no one’s offended by this comparison, but I’d call them London’s closest thing to Aime Leon Dore pre-LVMH money. Everything they do feels classy and unmistakably London. Product made with purpose, not just for looks. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know the compliment this is.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

UVU From a similar group to Cole Buxton, including Cole himself as a co-founder, UVU has become the coolest running club in the world. Not that they’d ever call themselves that. What started as a passion project for founder Adi Gillespie has grown into a brand that uses cinematic storytelling to inspire everybody to become a better trainer.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Corteiz Rules the World.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Picante. Founded by two ex-Burberry mates who clearly missed being creative more than they missed the corporate structure. Vintage-referencing graphics, boxy fits, heavyweight cotton, but the real signature is how far outside clothing they take the brand. Restaurant collabs, a running food guide, merch for London eateries. It’s less a clothing brand with a personality and more a taste level applied across everything they touch.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

Wales Bonner I think Wales Bonner captures the diversity of London best of anyone on this list. Product, casting, art direction, all of it. You see their range most clearly through the adidas and Y-3 collaborations. Their ability to make commonly casual pieces feel elevated is a skill not many can master.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

JW Anderson I’d say this is London’s answer to Jacquemus. A luxury brand that has a lot of fun, and you can see their personality from a mile away. Harry Styles wearing the brand during his London residency was obviously all over my feed. Their collaborations with Uniqlo have given customers a more accessible way into the brand, which you can’t hate on.
Instagram here.
Webstore here.

If there’s a brand that should be on this list, no matter the size, let me know. I don’t discriminate, and would love to feature more small brands where possible. Part 2 incoming.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

So if you want customers to pay a premium, they need to know exactly what they’re paying for. Before they buy. So much so, when complimented on the product, they can act as sales people for the brand.

‘The buttons are deadstock from a local button factory. The fabric is bespoke and most oxfords don't have the collar width, so they changed it.’

That’s the level of detail that can be repeated in the pub.

Every brand should be able to answer this, with every product:

Why would I buy an oxford shirt from you for $265, when I can buy a Uniqlo oxford for $49.90?

Everybody knows Uniqlo is really good value for the price. So tell me why you and not them?

This question has to be answered over and over again.

Mike McLachlan at Manresa is one of the best examples I can point to. He wanted his clothes made in America. He went to local factories, and nobody wanted the work. Rather than compromise he spent hundreds of thousands bringing production in-house in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

He talks about all of it. The cost, the setbacks, the vintage sewing machines.

So when Manresa put out an oxford, the Yale, nobody had to ask why it wasn't $49.90. The answer had been in front of them for a year.

That’s the work. Not a founder’s note buried on the about page. Not a one-off behind the scenes reel. Definitely not a fucking AI-written email blast.

Answer the Uniqlo question, over and over, until the price stops being a question at all.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

I spent the last 3 years working in soccer. This World Cup was meant to be everything I wanted. But it was the opposite. I didn’t even watch the final.

But once you’ve been on the inside, it all makes sense. I didn’t work for a US soccer club, I worked for ‘an entertainment company that happened to have a professional soccer team.’ That was our memo.

Our match days were a family experience, that in theory, you didn’t need to like the sport to enjoy. The Savannah Bananas are the gold standard for lower division sports clubs in the USA because of the tickets sold for their novelty experiences. Maybe you’ve seen their videos. Whilst this is entertaining, it is hard to feel like a ‘real’ sport club. It feels like FIFA adopted this mindset for this tournament.

The writing was on the wall as soon as the tournaments draw event started. An event, I would never watch (or watch again) but every employee had to watch. So I sat through the two hour shitshow. Mind you, I was working remotely from Mexico City at the time, so it could have been worse.

The event was embarrassing.

It took 90 minutes to even draw a team. There was the infamous Peace prize for somebody who’s bombed 7 countries in the last 12 months. It was so bad that even the presenters on air were saying ‘can we just get on with it and stop the nonsense?’. The event was capped off by a performance by the Village People. A great example of the contradiction we have come to expect from this country. This was a preview of what was to come for the tournament. The America-maxxxing of the World Cup.

If you’ve been to an NBA game, you will know. There is not a moment of silence or a minute that isn’t a sensory overload. The sport itself is rarely enough for any of their major leagues except maybe for the NFL. There has to be constant entertainment. This is how everything is viewed.

The above, is my wife (and editor, you should thank her), a former basketball player herself being overwhelmed at a Clippers game.

The irony for the sports like the NBA losing fan interest & live viewers, is that they have impacted the game for commercial benefits. The worse thing about the NBA, apart from flopping, is time outs. Usually a team is on a flow and it’s exciting, so the other team calls a time out to kill the momentum of the game. It’s boring for the fans. So what does the NBA do? They mandate extra two TV time outs per quarter, to get more revenue from the ad breaks. The opposite of what the fans want.

Hello enshittification.

And this is ignoring all the off-pitch related headlines that negatively impacted the tournament. Omar Artan, the Somali referee who wasn’t granted a visa. The disgraceful treatment of the Iran national team. Who had to fly in and out on game day as they weren’t granted permission to stay in the USA. Nine people injured during a mass shooting near England’s training facility in Kansas. And the political interference. There could be another two articles on that.

The beautiful game wasn’t enough, even for the final. Keep in mind that the 2022 World Cup final had over 1 billion viewers. The storylines that were already there between Spain and Argentine including the speculation of Messi’s last game for Argentina. Two nations playing off for the ultimate sports prize. Why do we need to create a Super Bowl like half time show, extending it to be 27 minutes long? Breaking the actual laws of the game of 15 minutes.

The entertainment, should never impact the actual game. It can happen around it, but the line should be drawn here. Again, look at the NBA TV timeouts. Argentina vs Spain, did not need Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy and whoever else was there to make fans tune in. If it does, then the game is truly fucked. How will regular teams replicate this each week? The strange carnival folk you often see at half time for regional teams, simply won’t cut it.

We will see the numbers come in about the revenue raised and how profitable it’s been, which will be incredibly tone deaf & somewhat the point of my argument, profits shouldn’t be the measurement of success. The World Cup didn’t need to dumbed down for the American audience. It’s global audience loves the game and the tournament for what it is. Football didn’t need saving. It needed to be held sacred instead of being chopped into quarter sized pieces for bigger ad spend.

And with that, I am glad I don’t need to talk about the World Cup again.
Back to regular programming.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

Any good brand, has a belief system that their customers align with or provide a feeling by wearing the brand. When it’s done well, it’s what the brand want and how they want to be perceived.
Nike make everybody think they are an athlete. If I get the new Alphafly maybe I’ll run a sub 3 marathon.
Jacquemus makes us appreciate luxury whilst having a personality.
Patagonia make us be proud to care about the environment.
Aime Leon Dore makes us nostalgic with their 90s references.

For football national teams, there is a lot of trauma that goes into these brands. This is often not what the team has decided but what decades of behaviours on field have taught us, which is a terrible place to be as a brand.

England. There is a lot of brand equity. A lot of love. Some still swear they are the best but they are stuck in the good old days. They could be ruling the football world again but ultimately don’t deliver when they are needed the most. England are Dell Computers.

For Argentina, the on-field perception is that they are dirty. “Masters of the dark arts”, was thrown around in multiple WhatsApp chats last night BUT, at the end of the day, they won’t stop fighting, will find a way and as a nation are now 6-0 in semi finals. It’s a brand that just feels inevitable and you don’t agree with them but can’t not use Amazon.

For the Socceroos, ‘we aren’t very good but we will give it a go’. Australia punches above its weight in most sports on the global scale given the size, we can accept a loss, we just can’t accept not trying. It’s almost a Bunnings sausage sizzle. Not great but you know what you are going to get.

USNMT, I don’t really want to comment on this, but there is just flat out delusion that they are any good. It’s ‘US Polo Assn’, that bootleg brand you always see in south east Asian countries pretending to be Polo. What Americans think they are though, is Ralph Lauren Purple Label.

Spain have tika taka. It’s a style of play where it’s constant movement. It’s a motion offence, for those basketball fans, think peak 2000s Spurs. Competitors come and go but you know the quality will be there. They do everything well, Bose.

France has all the fire power and a certain level of expectation. How high everybody regards them, it’s never as high as they regard themselves. It’s a brand that has a few stand out products but often ego brings it down. Tesla.

FIFA as a whole, everyone hates them. Everyone knows they’re gouging you, there’s constant public outrage, and yet you have zero choice but to go through them if you want the thing you want. Ticketmaster.

National football teams are brands that teach us actions speak louder than words. If you are community driven, are you really giving back to the community? Or only extracting money from it and framing it as community led? FIFA claim ‘for the good of the game’ but their actions, extracting every possible dollar from fans, prove otherwise.

Your foundations are why people feel how they feel about you. Sure they maybe giving you their money now, but make them feel good about it, so if a competitor comes along, they don’t jump ship straight away.

Your brand matters. and so do your behaviours.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

If you have a suggestion or comment, feel free to let me know via Instagram.

The best goal scorer in the world, yep.

The best finisher in the world, yep.

The most complete forward in the world, yep.

Arguably the best passer in the world, yep.

If you’ve actually watched him play either during his Spurs days or for Bayern, you’d make the case, he’s the best playmaker in the world.

But… he’s not the guy I’m betting on to sell boots.

He’s like the Tim Duncan of football. Going to have one of the best careers on paper of all time. Unbelievable locker room guy and team mate. But just not somebody who kids want to be like.

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There is a reason, Ja Morant, a player who a lot of NBA teams didn’t value as an asset, is worth so much to Nike. Him, the way he plays, the attitude and the good (and bad) behaviours that come with him, sell shoes. People don’t buy boring. Even with Ja Morant playing a total of 20 out of 82 games during the 2025/26 season, he had the top selling basketball sneaker on StockX in 2025.

Harry Kane will get highlights like his second goal against DR Congo but his lack of aura and personality has people appreciating him, but not wanting to be him. Meaning nobody is needing to wear the Harry Kane Skechers in the school yard.

Skechers could learn a thing or two from New Balance who have done it extremely well. They signed the original ‘Star-boy’ in Saka and the next coming, 19 year old Endrick. Off the field they’ve expanded their lifestyle collaboration with Stone Island. Which caught the attention of the fashion world and those like myself who won’t be lacing up boots.

If you’re trying to take sales away from Nike and adidas, you won’t do it with someone as harmless as Harry Kane.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

*Why it’s named like a design concept file, I don’t know.

Are you On IG? Drop a comment, it actually helps this thing reach more people.

Other key events included:
KEEN’s Camp Jasper showroom
Saucony’s Sync Space with group run and Collab Lab
Salomon’s permanent Paris Hub
Puma Suede House
Brooks panel with Jeff Staple and Don C.
Homerun NYC x Nike pop-up
GORE-TEX activation
Re-Run Workshop by Ciele

From what I can find, there were at least 15-20 running or sport-led events across the six days, compared to the 40 odd runway shows in Paris last week.

The perfect example
Myles Lewis-Skelly is an English international and Arsenal player. Last year for him to be involved in fashion week in a meaningful way he walked as a model for Wales Bonner.

This year, he ran a community 5km with local cafe Paperboy, which got more attention. That shift shows that to be involved in fashion week these days, you don't need to be so far from your natural habitat anymore.

Tennis is desperate to break in
Tennis has been trying to crack culture for a while. You can see it in the Wimbledon influencer activations from this year. The sport wants a younger audience and it knows it needs help getting there. So they went to Highsnobiety. Arguably the most influential publication for the Gen Z and Millennial audience. And Highsnobiety responded not with a feature or a campaign but with a tennis tournament. The who’s who of who plays tennis in the culture world, at the Tennis Club de Paris, on opening day of fashion week.

There are smaller versions of exactly this in LA. Crew tennis tournaments, the same community, the same culture. For tennis to become a thing like running, the seeds need to be planted seemingly organically and that’s why the LA version of this matters.
View more here.

Little Toyko Table Tennis wins the attention
Whilst major tennis is desperate for a seat at the cool kid table, Silver Lakes favourite hat brand LTTT, caused a stir with their new asics collab, including inflatable characters walking around. From all reports, their ping pong tournament was a hit.

Pharrell truly is Skateboard P
Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton show had an incredible set. Surf pun intended.

The runway budget for LV is clearly not going anywhere. But what cut through most was simpler than any of that.

His designer’s walk outfit. Backwards cap, grey zip-up hoodie, jeans, and the LV version of the Vans Authentic. Now, you can say what you want about the luxury version of a Vans skate shoe, or a Keds if you want to get specific. But the fact LV have done a version, tells me they see this cultural shift as well. As creatives, I think it’s important to remember this from Pharrell. We get work because of our taste, not because of the brands. Stay true to what you believe is cool regardless if the c-level understands.

Gramicci brought a climbing wall
And free slushies in 40 degree heat. That’s the whole brand in two activations. Functional, unpretentious, knows exactly who it’s for.

I tried something similar for Pleasing on Carnaby Street last week, custom icy poles for fans queuing in the heat. It wasn’t possible to execute and we pivoted to a virtual queue. But the instinct is the same. Meet your community where they are. Make them feel something and extra points if it can take away a pain point.

Vans and Clarks are taking opposite approaches
Vans are trusting the system that’s lasted 60+ years with their go-to silhouettes and updating the partners. Where Clarks are making sure they are continuing to evolve and hopefully creating new legacy items. Vans are tapping into partners for their cultural moments: Dover Street Market, BornxRaised, 424 and more. I think the ceiling for Vans and this strategy is capped. We have seen the collab game for years now. It won’t put Vans higher than it’s previously been, it might get it back close to the top though.

And Clarks are tapping into current trends of approach shoes and opening up to a new type of customer. But if Clarks hit culturally in the streets with a new product, it could set up the next 60 years of their SKUs.

It’s a risk, but bigger bets equal bigger results. I’m here for it.

The sandal problem nobody solved
Trust me, I looked. At every feed, every story, every photo, everyone I spoke to who was actually there. What were people wearing on their feet during that heatwave?

Boston Birkenstocks. Nothing interesting maybe apart from the Keen Uneek.

There is still no great men’s sandal for that world. Functional enough to walk Paris in 40 degree heat. Interesting enough to belong in that environment. Someone is going to crack it. It just hasn’t happened yet.

The takeaway
Sport is now a big part of fashion, no longer just the uncool little cousin.

This didn’t happen overnight. Gorpcore started it. Salomon became a fashion week mainstay by staying completely functional and never chasing trends. The rest of sport watched and took notes.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

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New York and Knicks, separating the words almost seems wrong. And that’s how they survived as a franchise for over 50 years without ever delivering the final piece to the championship puzzle.

Not all brands, and in this case sporting clubs, are created equal. The Knicks have New York City and a stadium that is the epicentre of culture. As an artist, MSG is the pinnacle. Once you are big enough to perform there and sell it out, you are eternalised forever.

There is a definite connection between the team and the city. The first one started over 400 years ago, when the city was actually part of the Dutch Republic. Yes, before America existed as a country. The orange and blue are the city colours, but they were originally the New Amsterdam flag colours. Anytime fans wear Knicks colours, they are inherently wearing the city’s colours.

The connection to the on-court started in 1985, with a potentially rigged lottery and a frozen envelope.

Landing the no.1 pick and drafting an immediate face of the franchise in 7-foot Patrick Ewing. This was such a big deal that Spike Lee lined up the next day to lock in season tickets. He became the club’s biggest fan for the next 40 years and a constant cultural connection.

The Ewing era connected with the attitude that makes up a New Yorker. Tough, gritty and unapologetic. Hard nosed. They didn't even fear Michael Jordan, nor did they beat him... This team made the city proud. Meanwhile David Stern, the league & the rest of the world, loved the shininess and spectacle of Air Jordan. The only thing shiny about the Knicks was Pat Riley's Armani suits. They were underdogs nobody wanted at the top. That resonated in the streets.

At the time, where you were from mattered (hello East Coast vs West Coast rap wars). New York was still the birthplace of hip hop. Rappers attached themselves to the Knicks and it all just made too much sense. What the Knicks represented and how they played, against the West Coast G-Funk era, the parallels were all there.

Even with a problematic owner that the biggest stars famously didn't want to play for, and fans wanted out, the fandom didn't waver. They always felt something, usually frustration born from passion. Strong enough that they were chanting SELL THE TEAM inside the stadium. The irony being they were doing exactly what he wanted, buying tickets to then chant it. Knicks fans are anything but indifferent.

During the bleakest on-court years, particularly the 2016-17 season with a record of 32-50, the Garden was still selling out. The Knicks posted a league-best profit of $141 million. The championship winning Warriors, led by Steph, Klay and Draymond, went 67-15 and earned a $100 million profit. The league average was $52 million. The Knicks' on-court record was far below average, but their off-court brand never faltered. They never changed their logo, which is often what losing teams do.

They kept leaning into attitude rather than the win-loss column. The Knicks were always New York first. A basketball team second. That’s what saved them.

Nike captured it perfectly in their championship film. Never Slept. Always Dreamed.

What I’m curious about, how do you maintain that grit and attitude, now you are the Champs? Or do they now lean into the greatness of NYC?

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

But anyway. Over consumption is inherently bad, so I try not to do it.
Old habits die hard though.
As someone who once had 40+ pairs of footwear, operating on around <10 now is a good place to be. Leaving the US did some damage to the rotation though, so I’m needing to replace some soldiers.

There’s also a difference between opening your front door and it being the beach, versus being in Hackney. I need something to throw on to walk the dog at night. My Salehe Crocs just wouldn’t fly in London.

I love the Boston Birkenstock. I think I’m just a few years too late. So I’ve been looking for alternatives.

Before I get into it, what I like about the Boston:
1) Closed toe. It’s fine having the heel out, but you can’t be in the pub with your skanky toes hanging out. Put them dawgs away.
2) They dress up and down.
3) The look with the socks is tight.
4) Works with shorts.
5) Works with pants.
6) Actually good for your feet. Lord knows I need this.

Here’s what the options are:
Click the name titlesfor the product page.

Dr. Martens Orleans San Mule

More structured than anything else on this list. The Doc’s DNA is in there without it screaming it at you. This makes the list because it doesn’t have the Docs yellow stitching. Closed toe, real sole, can actually handle a London pavement in October. Probably the most practical pick here.

Diemme Maggiore Faded Black Suede

Italian suede, Vibram rubber sole, handmade in Veneto. Sits somewhere between a mule and a sneaker silhouette. It’s weather-resistant which matters here. The faded black is a interesting call over straight black, a bit more character to it. Pricier, but that kinda comes with anything from Diemme.

ROA Fedaia

ROA is doing interesting things and this is probably the most out-there pick on the list. Trail-influenced, closed toe, proper outsole. It shouldn’t work as a casual shoe but somehow it does. Not for everyone. For the right person though, whose always ready for action, it’s the one.
This kinda looks like a Foamposite.. FTWK.

Studio Nicholson Wearing Clog

This is the closest thing to the Boston on the list and Studio Nicholson does it better. Considered brand, considered product. Black, minimal, works with the socks look without trying too hard. Slightly elevated but not in an annoying way. But much more expensive. At this point, should you just get the Birks? I think so.

Blundstone 2420 Clog

I truly wasn’t expecting to find a Blundstone product in my research.. but here we are. Rustic black leather, Chelsea boot construction translated into a clog. More robust than anything else on this list. As an Australian, I’m still slightly confused about the evolution of Blundstones into a premium brand. Can I stomach £160 for Blundstone clogs?

Salomon RX Slide 3.0 Nomad

A little more Sporty Spice than Posh.. but these would be hella comfy. Definitely the most sporty from the list so far. These are built for recovery but look intentional enough for a quick errand. If you’re not precious about it and just want something functional with a bit of edge, these work. I think the right colourway would be crucial for dressing up or down.

Salomon Reelax Slide Ultra

The premium version of the above. Full grain leather upper, cork footbed, fuzeFOAM midsole. £90 and actually feels like a considered product rather than just a performance slide with good branding. The khaki colourway ultimately leans more casual.. so again would need a different colourway.

Tabi Mule

Split them toes son. Not sure how I feel about running a Tabi but worth including for sure. Tencel knit upper, sugar cane outsole, split toe silhouette. Would feel premium. The split toe will divide opinion, which is probably the point.

Arket Suede Mule

The quiet one. These kinda remind me of the slippers my dad wears but much more fancy.
Suede upper, full leather lining, clean shape. No nonsense mule.

If there is something I’m missing, let me know. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, so could be swayed.

Anyway, thanks for reading the third edition of Things I’m Not Buying (But Want To).

Thanks for your time as always.

Hayden

What I miss about playing sport isn’t the Saturday night travel or playing in front of crowds. It’s the team camaraderie. The moments stretching during warm ups, talking shit during cool downs, with the teammates you’ve signed up for a season long battle with. It’s nearly impossible to replace. Being a fan is the closest we can get.

Sunday, I headed to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium alone but surrounded by 60,000 other people.

But I knew we believed in the same thing.
We wanted the same thing.
We cared for the same thing.
So not once during the hour ride on the 149 bus, did I think for a second I’d be lonely.

That’s what shared belief does.

90 minutes later, we’d either be devastated together or we would be strangers hugging out of pure joy.

While the rest of the football world calls it embarrassing for a club to celebrate finishing 17th, the reality is we dodged a bullet. The bullet with relegation engraved on it.
So yes, we were the happiest fans in world football on Sunday, all bar Arsenal.
We had the most to lose. A billion pound stadium, a self given big club title, already a banter club. Imagine just how bad it would have been.

This is why there isn’t another industry in the world that brings people together the way sport does.

As always, thanks for reading and Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur.

Hayden

Streetwear as a genre has always been for outsiders. Even myself, I wanted to be in fashion, but chose to study Graphic Design, rather than fashion design, because designing the print felt more important than knowing how to sew a garment. I came through the side door. So did Patta. It wasn’t a master plan that was heavily backed. It was very much a DIY mindset, that grew authentically. They came from record crates, rare sneakers and an underrepresented community in Amsterdam, not a 40 page business plan.

Brands like Aime Leon Dore built their original community through nostalgic led taste that their consumers bonded over. Patta built and sustained their community by actually living and breathing it every day, often referred to as a creative family. Still independently owned, proudly minority owned, never sold out.

So what makes Patta different? Everybody is talking about community now. This is where the five pillars of Patta come into play, which authentically drive everything and don’t feel like they were created for commercial benefit.

Patta Stores. Started out as a cultural hangout spot for like-minded creatives. The heartbeat of everything Patta does. With flagships located in Amsterdam, London, Milan & Lagos. The store came before the brand and in many ways still does.

Patta Clothing. A flag for fans to fly by wearing. The designs reference music, sport, Amsterdam and Surinamese heritage without ever having to explain themselves, very much the For Those Who Know mindset.

Patta Running Team. Every man and his dog has one of these now right, even Diplo. But Patta started their run club in 2010, and no matter how smart you are I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the future boom of run club culture from over a decade away. What I love about their ethos is that it seems like it’s more about people hanging out rather than big dicking over how fast they are.

Patta Soundsystem. The two founders met working at a record store called Fat Beats, with one of them being a DJ and the other a MC. Music was part of their identity before clothing, which is another nod to staying true to themselves. The Patta Soundsystem was originally designed as a DJ crew and has evolved into a full sub-label of the brand responsible for anything music related from products, to festivals and events to exclusive record releases. They’ve partnered with: Dekmantel Festival, the Jimi Hendrix estate, Conway, The Alchemist, Freddie Gibbs, MIKE, Madlib, Yussef Dayes and more.

Patta Foundation. The Foundation’s motto “each one teach one” expresses their commitment to giving back to the community that helped Patta become the clothing brand it is today. Their initiatives promote inclusivity and diversity, engaging in projects targeting young, marginalised and vulnerable audiences. Active across culture, sports, and the arts, spreading knowledge and creativity while bridging social gaps is core to the strategy. Most brands will donate (as a tax right off) but Patta gives back by teaching. That’s the difference.

“Out of love and necessity rather than profit and novelty”. That ethos started as a way to get their local community rare sneakers that you couldn’t find elsewhere in Amsterdam. Twenty years later, the landscape of consumerism has changed but the love hasn’t.

Most brands build a community on top of a business. Patta built a business on top of a community. That’s not a model you can copy, because you can’t fake the 20 years that came before it.

Patta has always been about building culture rather than building profit.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

Hello!

Lots of new subscribers lately, which is always a good motivator, so hello. And thanks for being here and I’ll do my best to not waste your inbox.

Moodboard Mondays is something I started back in my Berlin days as a way to track what was catching my attention. It’s not weekly, and it’s dictated by whatever I’m into at the time. It’s crazy to think I’ve done 65 of these.. now 66.

So, here is also to that.

Bromptons

I have a really good friend who is probably the smartest person I know. You know the type of guy he is, no social media, but somehow always tapped into what’s coming next. He’s not a trend jumper, but if he’s early, he’s early. And he rides a Brompton.

You know, those stupid little fold-up bikes that only boomers use?

He’s trying to convince me they’re cool. So I went to the website expecting nothing, and honestly, the art direction, casting and styling is good. Really good.

I’m still trying to work out if he’s ahead of the curve or just getting lost in the VC world.

It kinda feels like when I started wearing Crocs. I was very early on those MoFos in 2018, mainly for irony, but also because they were hella comfy.

There’s a bigger piece in here, so I won’t go too deep, but Brompton being cool was not on my 2026 prediction list. If, in fact, he’s onto something.

Teenage Engineering

It’s a brand that is clearly design-driven. Jose (hi Carlos) had a couple of their products, which got me onto the brand. But yesterday at Goodhood, they turned a vintage arcade machine into a learner for their newest product, the EP-133 K.O. II.

If you know me even in internet form, you know I fucking love how it looks. The deeper question, the one I spent Sunday night down a Claude and Reddit hole on, was what I would actually do with this thing? I don’t want to make actual songs. Mainly just have a different creative outlet.

I’ve never played music but enjoy it more than your average Joe. I also want a hobby that gets me away from a screen. I’m designing more for fun lately, but that’s just more screen time. So I’m wondering if this becomes the toy that gets the creative juices flowing without a laptop in front of me.

Not trying to be Dos Again… or H Dilla.
Just seems like a fun hobby. If anybody has experience here, I’m all ears.

Local Fashion

I’m enjoying the difference in how Londoners dress. It’s got me wanting a pair of leather shoes for everyday walking, and I’ve got my eye on Horatio. The brands I keep finding feel more like cobblers than shoe companies, and I’m here for it. Emphasis is on being proud of being product-first brands.

Apartment

We signed a lease. Everybody said it would be a nightmare and to be fair, one of the four flats we viewed did have a line outside. That being said, it was nothing compared to the craziness of flat hunting in Berlin. But here we are. We are very lucky to lock in a spot, so stress-free. Everybody wins, including the dog, who gets another balcony.

Now starting from scratch on how to decorate it, which means moodboards are getting a workout. Chantelle wants maximillism… I am thinking more warm, 70s California .. Ace Hotel kinda vibes. Where we end up, let’s see! But excited to deck it out.

Zines

I’m somewhat obsessed with zines lately. The DIY of it. Maybe I can make one myself, though I need to figure out the printing element, since I have five suitcases to my name and none of them has a printer.

The idea I keep coming back to is making something physical and sending it to the agencies and people I want to be in conversation with. A zine as a calling card. Watch this space.

Who knows? Maybe there will be a D5 newsletter in zine form???

What have you been looking into and what do you have for me that I might be interested in?

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

So why London? (insert Turkish from Lock Stock voice)

1. I want to be back in a city again. A PROPER city. LA is not just one city, it’s many.

2. I think London is the place to be for creatives. As the world looks away from the USA, I believe London has taken over New York as the creative culture hub for sport, fashion and youth culture. Three things I can talk about and look into, all day long.

3. I’m not tied to a job-related visa, so I can freelance again and have more flexibility with my career.

4. Some of our best friends from Berlin are British and have since moved back to London. So day one, we have a handful of great friends here and a small but mighty community.
   Fun fact: after a few Sunday pints when we visited last year, we signed a contract with friends that we would be back in London by May 1st.

5. It’s not the USA.

6. Weekends in Italy and across Europe again.

7. I hate needing a car every day and sitting in LA traffic.

8. Hopefully, Tottenham are still in the Premier League.

That is why London.

And what happens now?

I’ve said it before, and some of you even still wear merch that says it, but District 5ive is forever. I’m about to give this more time than ever. The baseball hiatus is over.

If you haven’t seen my posts on IG, engage here and help let the algo know I’m back.

As always, thanks for your time.
Hayden

1. We launched the biggest brand campaign in club history.

We had two separate kit launches, separate because the kits were late… for the 3rd year running.

2. First, I was told to spend no money, which is always a fun brief. I didn’t want to do another version of what everybody else does, but a much cheaper (& shitter) version..
It’s also a kit that there isn’t much too. It’s a modern take on a traditional football pattern, with 34 waves making up each checker.

So I leaned into the captain and his accent.

Side note: I lost the vote on making the checkers darker and was then told to make them darker in post-production. Go figure.

3. The second was definitely one for me. The football world has consumed my life for the last three years, so I wanted to treat it more like a fashion project and have work that’s closer to how I feel and what I want to create moving forward.

As always, super small team. If you all can’t fit in one car, you’ve got too many. That said, it came out very strong and sold well.
Highest-selling kit release day in club history. Breaking the record, I previously set with another jersey I designed two seasons ago.

4. We had to do media day the week of the home opener, and then turn around signage, posters and scoreboard graphics for the home opener.
5. Rebrand the stadium.
Busy start to the season was an understatement.

Personally:
All the while knowing I was wrapping up less than a month later because Chantelle and I were moving to London.

This is the third time we have left (new) family and friends in a city we have called home for nearly four years.

Logistically, we are pretty good at it.

But emotionally, it’s a lot. We’ve created relationships that we will have forever. Some of these people know who I am better now than my oldest friends - not saying they are better friends. But they know the person I am today better than anyone.

And why London? Well I think that deserves it’s own post.

Just wanted to check in and explain where I’ve been, but I’ve been thinking about you, and I have missed this.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

Part of that is down to the owner, Greg, who has to be one of the nicest guys in menswear. He’s always up for a chat and always generous with free game when it comes to brands, design choices, and fabrics. Anytime I go in, I usually leave an hour later. So much for the quick stop. But it’s rare to meet someone who can talk off the cuff about menswear brands more than me, so I soak up every word.

The shop itself feels very LA. Lots of natural light. Spacious. Considered. Surfing and hiking books. A little bit of Japanese flavour. The product has room to breathe, which means you’re not battling through overpacked racks trying to push hangers to one side just to see what’s there.

Product-wise, you can find a bit of everything. What I like most is that Greg has chosen to stock everything for a reason, and he’ll happily tell you why. A lot of the brands are Japanese and Korean, which not many other stores in LA have on hand. So it’s always nice to finally touch pieces you’ve been seeing online for months.

Brother Brother also has its own in-house label and, like everything else in the store, it feels very well designed. That’s actually what I find myself buying most. I know it’s going to fit right, and the attention to detail lines up with what I like. It’s also reasonably priced, and some of it is made locally.

I don’t wear graphic prints that aren’t vintage very often, but anytime I wear the BB Shop Tee, I get compliments. I even wore it to a gig at the Forum and got stopped seven times by people in the crowd telling me they liked the design or loved Brother Brother.

That’s pretty rare. For people to comment on liking a shop says a lot, and it speaks to the reputation they’ve built.

I’m not really one for cults, but the cult following around Brother Brother is well deserved. And when it comes to independent retailers, cult followings are a good thing.

Shops like Brother Brother remind you why good retail still matters. In a world where most clothes are discovered through an algorithm, it’s refreshing to walk into a place where everything is there because someone with taste chose it.

So yeah, check them out online, or even better, if you’re in LA, go to the store in West Adams.

Follow them on IG.
Check out their website here.

As always, thanks for reading!

Hayden

If you’ve made it this far: Do me a favor and engage with the post about this on instagram please.

That belief drove Village PM, the Paris-based skate brand founded in 2024, to create what might be one of the most interesting shoes of last year. Not just in skateboarding. In any category.

This is a product-led company. Not just a flashy disruptor brand.

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For the past two decades, skate shoes have been like your favourite Thailand tourist t-shirt, “same same but different”. Different colourways, slightly updated versions of old models and usually looking towards basketball or the 90s for inspiration.

Village PM did something different. They asked a better question. What the shoe should be, not what it used to be.

Founded by lifelong skaters Basile Lapray and Bram De Cleen, both with experience inside technical outdoor brands like Salomon and Arc’teryx, the starting point wasn’t aesthetic. It was functional.

Instead of looking inward to skate history, they looked sideways to rock climbing. A world obsessed with friction, feeling and precision. When it’s put like that, it’s kinda obvious, huh.

That thinking shows up in the details. Extended lacing for better lockdown. Climbing rubber for maximum grip. A shape that feels engineered rather than styled.

Not decorative difference. Functional difference.

‘Don’t look inside your industry for inspiration’ is a rule I think creatives should live by. The most interesting ideas rarely live in the same industry. And I think Village PM are the perfect example of why this is so true. This different thinking and rock climbing mindset, is why I am now writing about a shoe, I haven’t even seen in person.

It also matters that they built this as a proper skate brand, complete with their own all-European skate team.
Culture first. Marketing second.

Because if you’re going to innovate inside a category, you have to respect it.

Here is their debut skate video from 2025.

As always, thanks for reading.

Hayden

Links:
Shop Village PM here.
Follow on IG here.

If the first campaign was about subliminal shots and keeping receipts, this time it’s a Euphoria-level diss track.

Firstly, the retro-inspired gaming console is the standout. It adds a layer of intention that goes beyond a one-off film. You can easily see this becoming an in-store activation or playable experience over the coming months, the kind that naturally generates UGC without asking for it.

Secondly, I love that they’re staying inside the Ant world they’ve already built, right down to the colour palette.

Now let’s get into the finer details.

On the surface, you only need to have watched a few games over the past seasons to catch the Monstar-like characters and their very familiar traits. But when you pause it, that’s where it gets interesting. Most of the characters feel pointed for a reason. These aren’t just rivals, they’re signature athletes(minus Joker) at other brands. The subliminal details are deliberate, and they reward attention.

If you are reading this, there is a fair chance you don’t need an explanation. But just know, there is no mistaking who they are aimed at.

I said this last time, and I’ll say it again. Credit to adidas Basketball for letting Ant’s personality fully come through. This campaign only works because it leans into his raw, unfiltered presence. In an era where most athletes are media-trained into sameness, Ant is truly one of one. And the smartest thing adidas can do is keep letting him be exactly that.

The takeaway isn’t the diss.
It’s the trust.

When brands stop sanding athletes down for safety and let athletes become authored characters, culture follows.

Which raises a bigger question. adidas look ready for war, but will anyone fire back? Are sneaker wars back?

As always, thanks for reading.
Hayden

Their flagship store in Silver Lake is also worth visiting, either if you live in LA or the next time you’re in town.

It’s hiding in plain sight. And don’t think for a second the exterior is an afterthought.

This is a brand that’s been quietly building a cult following for over a decade. You can understand why, by how many different styles and weights they offer in something as simple as a plain t-shirt. That level of range only exists when a brand genuinely cares about the product.

Some people might look at the wall of tees and think it’s overkill. They all do the same thing, right? But that misses the point. When you’re dressing with a t-shirt as the foundation, fit, cut, and weight matter. It has to work for what you’re actually trying to do. And Lady White Co. makes sure it does.

And they don’t stop at t-shirts. They’ve got you covered head to toe, shoes and socks included, underwear excluded. Unsurprisingly, I also appreciated the printed materials throughout the store.

As I start framing more of these pieces as District 5ive’s Guide To Better Living, inspired by Grinspoon’s debut album, this felt like the right place to start. Lady White Co. thinks consciously about everything, from stitch to thread count to the words you read along the way.

I finally made the trip over from Venice after eyeing off a lilac jacket. The colour is spot on, and if you know me, you know I’ve always had a soft spot for purple. It’s refreshing to see a minimal brand push its colour palette like this. With no external branding, it’s clearly made for the wearer, not the watcher, which helps keep the hype away.

The main takeaway is simple. The quality across every garment is undeniable. You can’t feel that through a screen, but in person, it’s hard to fault. No notes.

This is a brand for the “I only shop with them” type. People who find something that works and stick with it. That’s the biggest compliment you can give a brand, and something I think about a lot.

So if you’re in LA, it’s worth checking out their space.
You can check them out here on Insta.
Or do some online shopping here.

As always, thanks for reading.
Hayden

Let me know if you are already a fan of Lady White Co.

I’ve written a few text-heavy pieces lately, so this week I thought I’d lean into what I do best. Visuals.

These are references from my ongoing collection, the things that quietly inform and shape the visual language here over time.

All images sourced from Pinterest. Not all are perfect but they all have atleast one element I like. That could be anything as small as a texture, a colour, a type or a layout.

Thanks for reading, and in this case, looking.

Hayden

PS. I promise there isn’t much more visual language content coming. Probably.