A brief history of the jjjjound x Reebok Club C
Hello my friends, I’m testing out the new Notes feature here on Substack. I wrote a thread about the jjjjound x Reebok Club C, my new favorite shoe, and figured that I may as well release it as a full article as well.
You can find the original thread here:
Jjjjound got its start as one of the internet’s first moodboards, all the way back in 2006. Since then, jjjjound and its founder Justin Saunders have found a great deal of success within the design community, with Saunders at one point being Kanye West’s right-hand man.
Saunders managed to parlay jjjjound into a genuine brand in its own right when it started producing physical products in 2013.
Jjjjound’s design ethos is largely based around the ideas of minimalism and “elevated basics”, both of which were incredibly popular at the time.
Following a very popular release of a New Balance 990v3 in 2018, 2019 saw their first collaboration with Reebok. The differences from the regular offering were minimal, but still present enough to drive sneakerheads crazy: A flat ecru tongue, gray accents, and the JJJJound logo in place of the normal Reebok logo. 1800 pairs total were made, and they sold out immediately. An instant classic.
2020 brought round 2 of the Club C, this time opting for tan accents over the previous gray:
This time the Club Cs were accompanied by an open-air shopping mall art installation, as a reflection on the (then ongoing) COVID pandemic. Again, an instant sell-out.
That brings us to today, with the third iteration of the Club C releasing on April 6 of this year, this time with olive accents (and once again, selling out instantly).
Are the shoes basic? Yeah, no question. Are they worth the hype? Well that’s debatable. Many people (including myself) would answer affirmatively, but as the minimalism wave continues to die, it’ll be interesting to see how/if jjjjound adapts as a brand.
As for my pair, they look great and are quite comfortable. They hit a nice sweet spot between a chunky (e.g., New Balance) and sleek (e.g., common projects) shoe, without breaking the bank.
Also, before we go, I’d like to know your thoughts on these shorter thread/post hybrids: