Sorry to admit, but I don’t have any capacity left thinking of a good intro this time. But the good thing is, I’ve put a lot of effort especially into the first topic of today’s GONE FISHING. So please have fun with this issue, like, comment, and tell your friends about it, I have to pack my bags now, because I’m going to the seaside for a couple of days. Kind of going fishing, you know what I mean?
That being said, let’s have a look at all the news of this week, I’ve fished from the sea of information…
For the past few years, it has felt almost impossible to talk about sneakers without eventually talking about the market.
Every conversation seemed to arrive at the same destination: Someone would mention resale prices. Someone else would point to declining demand. Another person would argue that sneaker culture [sic!] was dead because nothing sold out anymore. Somewhere along the way, we collectively stopped discussing shoes and started discussing economics.
Maybe that’s what surprises me the most:
Why does the sneaker market even bother you?!
Because unless you work for Nike, adidas or New Balance, unless you own a sneaker store, or make a living reselling footwear, why do you care?
When did consumers become market analysts?
There was a period, roughly between 2019 and 2023, when sneakers seemed to transcend their original purpose. They were no longer simply objects of use, design and personal expression. They became financial assets. Sure, we had some hypes before, but what happened in that period of time was unseen. Release calendars resembled earnings reports. Every collaboration was judged before it even launched, not by its design or cultural significance, but by a single question: How much will it resell for?
That shift fundamentally changed the conversation.
People stopped asking whether they liked a shoe and started asking whether the market liked it. Personal taste quietly gave way to perceived value, while social media accelerated the process even further. Every release was immediately reduced to resale graphs, raffle odds and market performance. We became remarkably good at analysing demand, yet somehow forgot to talk about story, design or the communities that gave these products meaning in the first place.
Today, that market looks very different.
Resale prices have normalised. Fewer releases generate the kind of hysteria we became accustomed to during the hype years. General releases sit on shelves longer. Collaborations don’t automatically disappear within seconds. Predictably, many people interpret this as evidence that sneaker culture is declining.
I’m not convinced.
If anything, I think we’ve confused the sneaker economy with sneaker culture for far too long.
Because while the speculative bubble has undoubtedly burst, sneakers themselves haven’t become any less relevant. Quite the opposite. More people than ever wear them every single day (check the stats). Luxury brands continue to build entire collections around them. Fashion borrows their language. Performance running has become a cultural movement. Football terraces continue to influence design. Sneakers remain one of the most universal products in contemporary culture. The sneaker is still the most important piece of a subculture fit.
What’s disappeared isn’t the sneaker. It’s the expectation that every release should become an investment. And perhaps that’s healthy.
For the first time in years, buying sneakers feels surprisingly uncomplicated again. You can walk into a store, try a pair on, think about it for a day or two and come back without fearing they’ll disappear forever. You can choose a shoe because the shape feels right, because the colour reminds you of something, because it fits your wardrobe, underlines your personality, or simply because it makes you smile. That shouldn’t feel revolutionary, yet somehow it does.
It reminds us that sneakers were never meant to function like stocks. They were designed to be worn and to be seen.
Looking back, the years between 2019 and 2023 increasingly feel like an exception rather than the rule. An extraordinary moment in which cheap capital, social media, scarcity and a booming resale economy collided to create a culture obsessed with financial upside. Somewhere in that process, we started measuring the success of a sneaker by everything except the experience of wearing it.
Maybe that’s why so many people still seem disappointed today. They’re comparing the current market to an unsustainable moment that was never likely to last.
But culture has always outlived markets.
Markets rise and fall. Communities adapt. Taste evolves. Products remain.
The irony is that today’s sneaker landscape may actually offer more freedom than the one many people romanticise. Less pressure to buy everything. Less anxiety about missing out. Less obsession with owning what everyone else wants. More room for personal taste. More room for individuality. More room to rediscover why we fell in love with sneakers in the first place.
Perhaps that’s the question worth asking.
Not whether resale prices are down. Not whether the market has cooled.
But whether we still know how to enjoy a sneaker without first checking what somebody else thinks it’s worth.
Because the market measures scarcity. Culture measures meaning.
Those have never been the same thing.
And maybe sneaker culture doesn’t need another record-breaking resale price. Maybe it just needs people who are excited to lace up a pair of shoes they genuinely love.
Source: Vans
Some shoes deserve a second chance. Not (only) because nostalgia sells, but because their original idea still makes sense. That’s exactly what makes the return of the Vans AVE Classic by Hockey so interesting.
Originally introduced as Anthony Van Engelen’s first signature model for Vans, the AVE Classic quietly became one of skateboarding’s most respected shoes. At a time when skate footwear was growing increasingly technical and bulky, it offered something refreshingly understated: a timeless silhouette that looked as good off the board as it performed on it. Now, years after disappearing from shelves, it’s back - updated with modern skate technology and reimagined through the lens of Hockey, the uncompromising skate brand Van Engelen co-founded alongside icon himself Jason Dill.
Anthony Van Engelen isn’t simply one of the most influential skateboarders of his generation. Through both brands Fucking Awesome and Hockey, he’s helped define what contemporary skateboarding looks and feels like. While many skate brands have gradually embraced broader fashion audiences (hi Supreme), Hockey has remained deliberately elusive. Dark, raw and unapologetically skate-first, it has cultivated the kind of credibility that can’t be manufactured through marketing alone. As Van Engelen once put it:
“I’m always stoked to return to the unknown.”
That mindset has shaped his career as much as his skateboarding.
The AVE Classic reflects that philosophy. Rather than chasing the oversized aesthetic currently dominating skate footwear, it doubles down on restraint. Premium leather uppers, subtle Hockey branding and upgraded performance features - including DURACAP reinforcement, POPCUSH cushioning and SickStick rubber - modernise the shoe without changing its character.
In an era obsessed with bringing back archive models, the AVE Classic stands out because it doesn’t rely on nostalgia alone. It reminds us that the best skate shoes were never just products. They were built by skateboarders, for skateboarders. And this idea never stops being relevant.
Source: Lapstone & Hammer
Saucony has a momentum (as we all could see at PFW)! For years, the brand continuously built credibility within the sneaker community. Today, it’s increasingly becoming part of a broader cultural conversation, appearing alongside fashion labels, creative retailers and community-driven collaborations that feel considered rather than forced.
The latest example comes from Lapstone & Hammer and Philadelphia skateboarder Jimmy Gorecki, who reinterpret the Saucony ProGrid Omni 9 through one of the city’s most beloved summer traditions: water ice. Available in vibrant Watermelon/Blue Razz and Mint/Tangerine colourways, the “Jimmy G’s water ice collection” celebrates local culture rather than simply applying another seasonal colour palette - even though this would have been fair enough looking at the wonderful mixed colors. I really can’t decide which one is my fav.
“The center piece of Jimmy G’s Water Ice Collection are the coveted Saucony Omni 9’s in Vizi Red & Mint. The watermelon, blue razz, mint and mango tones of our beloved Water Ice adorn the Omni’s with summer saturation. Hitting all the nostalgic notes, familiar and fresh, these Saucony’s are the perfect companion to summer time madness in Philly and beyond.”
(Lapstone & Hammer)
The project reflects what Saucony has been doing particularly well over the past year: Instead of chasing hype through celebrity names or weird marketing stunts, the brand continues to build around authentic communities, local stories and thoughtful design. It’s the same approach that was visible throughout Paris Fashion Week, where Saucony confidently positioned itself alongside fashion rather than outside of it, proving that performance heritage and cultural relevance no longer have to exist separately.
Sometimes the strongest momentum isn’t created by making the loudest statement. It’s built one thoughtful collaboration at a time. And some water ice.
➡️ Lapstone & Hammer | Saucony
The wait is over! Warner Bros. has released the first full trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three”, offering the most comprehensive look yet at the final chapter of his critically acclaimed trilogy. Based on Frank Herbert’s “Dune Messiah”, the film picks up 17 years after the events of “Dune: Part Two”, with Paul Atreides now ruling as Emperor while struggling with the consequences of the power he once sought. In Germany we say: “Man kennts…”
The trailer places a much stronger emphasis on the fractured relationship between Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya), while teasing larger-scale battles, political conspiracies and the return of Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho. Newcomers include Robert Pattinson as the mysterious villain Scytale, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Florence Pugh and a returning ensemble cast.
Sounds good, looks good, need to re-watch the first two parts in the next couple of weeks.
“Dune: Part Three” arrives in cinemas on December 18.
➡️ “Dune”
And talking about trailer: “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, the documentary about legendary british rock-group Oasis, and a “unprecedented backstage access to one of the most anticipated rock ‘n’ roll comebacks of our time”, has released a trailer, too.
Will be out in September.
➡️ Oasis
Last but not least, get your weekly dose of great music with the ever evolving HIGHFIVESANDSTAGEDIVES playlist on Spotify and make sure to click the plus or the follow button or whatsoever to stay up to date, and then tell your family and friends and all people, who deserve listening to great music, about it. Appreciate it! You can discover some more playlists I made, too, and right here (I used to be a music editor btw):
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