Great piece, Kyle. I’ve been trail running for over a decade and never really got caught up in running culture, so it’s interesting to watch these brands evolve. The crossover from skateboarding, punk, and streetwear stands out. You even see it at races now, thigh tattoos and a lot more visible self-expression. I run for health, not aesthetics, but I respect brands trying new things. Trail running was probably due for this. Though I did cringe at Acid Running.
Another Banger! Definitely not going to be a good look for Satisfy. In fact this just made me look up Currently and consider buying from them. But then I remembered just how good Terignota is and how they have actually capped their prices and are extremely transparent and thats actually punk. So...
Interesting take and I’m really fascinated to see where it will go from here!!
I agree with you in that Currently has nothing differentiating. And that’s the problem. What is the brand’s USP, if it’s all borrowed references?
I do think to say that Satisfy hasn’t patented the fabric is too simplistic, though. Satisfy isn’t built on a fabric. Fabrics are simply part of its world.
Currently is not only imitating satisfy and bandit’s products, it’s borrowing Satisfy’s world vision and both brands’ silhouettes. The colour palette, the visuals, the fabric and the kit. It’s an imitation of the Satisfy brand, not a singular product.
In terms of the glass houses comment- I totally get where people are coming from, but the Satisfy fleece top is one product within a world of unique product. It is not comparative to having your brand identity, aesthetic and narrative borrowed by another person/brand.
Besides, where it gets really tricky is the fact Currently isn’t proposing Satisfy’s influences in a different industry, or for a different customer. The brand is going after the same customer. It’s still a luxury sports brand commanding high prices. It’s taking market share. This is where it becomes something sort of immoral.
I think it’s really interesting how lots of the dialogue around this seems to be that everyone else does it, so why not. I disagree. I wrote a piece about imitation culture a few weeks ago. We were all told to not copy another person’s homework at school, but these days, we copy everything and just call it being influenced. Lots of the time, it’s actually intellectual property theft.
Fashion designers like Jonathan Anderson who run two brands (JW Anderson and Dior; formerly Loewe) can not offer the same collections at both of his brands—despite it being his own creative vision and ideas, coming from his own brain. So why should another person profit of someone else’s designs, visual and brand identity?
Satisfy launched on heavy inspo from punk and hardcore subcultures—at a moment crew runners were wearing old ripped band tees bc big brands were feeling stale. MothTech is a trademark, not an original concept they defined. The pivot to trails and the American West followed another trend cycle. Insane to call anyone out from that vantage point, and misuse of the Fugazi lyric shows OG culture vulture behavior. This is a multi million dollar venture-backed, debt heavy, overpriced product brand who chose an anti-consumerism song to defend cringeworthy behavior from a nearly 50yr old founder threatened by a young guy who admired his brand (maybe a little too much). The DM was for public consumption and backfired perfectly.
And yes, there’s a bigger issue that most running brands are copy/paste and broader design plagiarism in general. If this was an actual IP issue it would’ve been handled by lawyers. Algorithms flattened culture.
Great piece, Kyle. I’ve been trail running for over a decade and never really got caught up in running culture, so it’s interesting to watch these brands evolve. The crossover from skateboarding, punk, and streetwear stands out. You even see it at races now, thigh tattoos and a lot more visible self-expression. I run for health, not aesthetics, but I respect brands trying new things. Trail running was probably due for this. Though I did cringe at Acid Running.
If I had a dollar for every thigh tattoo in a running marketing campaign, I’d be rich
Another Banger! Definitely not going to be a good look for Satisfy. In fact this just made me look up Currently and consider buying from them. But then I remembered just how good Terignota is and how they have actually capped their prices and are extremely transparent and thats actually punk. So...
Interesting take and I’m really fascinated to see where it will go from here!!
I agree with you in that Currently has nothing differentiating. And that’s the problem. What is the brand’s USP, if it’s all borrowed references?
I do think to say that Satisfy hasn’t patented the fabric is too simplistic, though. Satisfy isn’t built on a fabric. Fabrics are simply part of its world.
Currently is not only imitating satisfy and bandit’s products, it’s borrowing Satisfy’s world vision and both brands’ silhouettes. The colour palette, the visuals, the fabric and the kit. It’s an imitation of the Satisfy brand, not a singular product.
In terms of the glass houses comment- I totally get where people are coming from, but the Satisfy fleece top is one product within a world of unique product. It is not comparative to having your brand identity, aesthetic and narrative borrowed by another person/brand.
Besides, where it gets really tricky is the fact Currently isn’t proposing Satisfy’s influences in a different industry, or for a different customer. The brand is going after the same customer. It’s still a luxury sports brand commanding high prices. It’s taking market share. This is where it becomes something sort of immoral.
I think it’s really interesting how lots of the dialogue around this seems to be that everyone else does it, so why not. I disagree. I wrote a piece about imitation culture a few weeks ago. We were all told to not copy another person’s homework at school, but these days, we copy everything and just call it being influenced. Lots of the time, it’s actually intellectual property theft.
Fashion designers like Jonathan Anderson who run two brands (JW Anderson and Dior; formerly Loewe) can not offer the same collections at both of his brands—despite it being his own creative vision and ideas, coming from his own brain. So why should another person profit of someone else’s designs, visual and brand identity?
Satisfy launched on heavy inspo from punk and hardcore subcultures—at a moment crew runners were wearing old ripped band tees bc big brands were feeling stale. MothTech is a trademark, not an original concept they defined. The pivot to trails and the American West followed another trend cycle. Insane to call anyone out from that vantage point, and misuse of the Fugazi lyric shows OG culture vulture behavior. This is a multi million dollar venture-backed, debt heavy, overpriced product brand who chose an anti-consumerism song to defend cringeworthy behavior from a nearly 50yr old founder threatened by a young guy who admired his brand (maybe a little too much). The DM was for public consumption and backfired perfectly.
And yes, there’s a bigger issue that most running brands are copy/paste and broader design plagiarism in general. If this was an actual IP issue it would’ve been handled by lawyers. Algorithms flattened culture.