DROPPED. Issue 003: The shop is the brand now.

Song for the Mute × adidas Originals FW26

The Australian label takes its slow, worn-in style to two adidas classics. The Samba Decon has a heel that folds flat, so the shoe also works as a slip-on mule. It comes in Black, Brown and Green. The SL 72 Pro sits on a tall rocker midsole with rope laces and a faded finish, in Collegiate Green, Beige and Off White. Track jackets, trousers, shorts and tees come with them. Song for the Mute sold it first on September 12, and Australia and China got it September 18. The global drop at Song for the Mute and adidas is October 16. The SL 72 Pro is $170 in unisex sizing. Nobody has published the Samba price yet. Slow fashion, fast checkout!

Sources: Sole Retriever, Sep 10, 2026 · Just Fresh Kicks, updated Sep 28, 2026 · The Drop Date, Sep 17, 2026

Nocturnal × Nike SB Air Force 1 Low

Philly, this one is yours. Nocturnal, the Philadelphia skate shop, has confirmed October 17 for its Nike SB Air Force 1 Low, part of Nike SB’s City Pack. Grey suede with green on the Swooshes, laces, tongue and heel, “Nocturnal” stitched on the heel counter, a black midsole and a green outsole. $120 in men’s sizing, and you can only get it at the shop’s Philadelphia flagship. Support your local skate shop. Literally!

Sources: Complex, Oct 7, 2026 · Sneaker Bar Detroit, updated Oct 5, 2026

Victor Kan × Timberland Euro Hiker GTX

Victor Kan left his long-time position at Packer. In 2026 he opened his own New York shop, Third of June, and now he has a Timberland boot with his name on it. In his own words, quoted by Sole Retriever from Instagram: “After working with Timberland closely for over a decade as a buyer and collaborator with various boutiques, I am now working with the brand under my own name.” The Euro Hiker GTX has taupe suede, silver mesh, a burgundy-brown suede tongue and Gore-Tex inside. It comes out October 17, only at Third of June in the store and online. $195, unisex sizing. A buyer bought his own name back!

Sources: Sole Retriever, Oct 9, 2026 · Sneaker Bar Detroit, Oct 10, 2026 · Hypebeast, Sep 13, 2026

Also on the calendar

• Out now Sci-Fi Fantasy × Come Tees: hand-painted tees, a butterfly zip-up and a studded trucker, made in LA. Jerry Hsu’s skate brand meets painter Sonya Sombreuil’s DIY label. $55 to $160 on scififantasy.co. Two tees were already sold out when we checked on Oct 11.
• Sat 10.17 Air Jordan 5 “Halloween,” $215. The big-brand pick for the week.

Sources: Hypebeast, Oct 9, 2026 · Sci-Fi Fantasy store, prices checked Oct 11, 2026 · Complex, Oct 1, 2026

Vintage got a TV channel.

Follow-up to our ComplexCon issue. ThriftCon is now TikTok’s first official global vintage partner, according to Complex, and Complex runs ComplexCon. The deal started with livestreams at the festival: on October 3, 45 top-tier pieces from co-founder Mario “Mars” Conte’s own collection, and on October 4, 45 collectible vintage soccer jerseys. Three weekly vintage shows follow. Hot take: the thrift rack has become a TV channel. If you sell vintage and you’re not on camera yet, someone else is selling your grail live.

Sources: Complex, Oct 2, 2026

Nike named its plan “Pace.” The numbers are slower.

Nike’s new restructuring plan is called “Pace,” Retail Dive reported on October 2. Reuters reports it should save about $2.5 billion through fiscal 2031, with layoff notices starting in 2027. The quarter behind it: revenue down 4% to $11.2 billion, Greater China down 22% and Converse down 28%, per Retail Dive. (Reuters puts China at minus 26% in constant currency.) CEO Elliott Hill: “We know what healthy looks like and we’re taking deliberate actions to get there.” A BNP Paribas analyst counts this as the third restructuring since fiscal 2024. A Needham analyst calls the turnaround’s visibility “very low.” Three restructurings is a pattern, not a plan. Meanwhile the shops in Zoe’s section are selling Nike SBs one city at a time.

Sources: Retail Dive, Oct 2, 2026 · Reuters via News Tribune, Oct 2, 2026

Fort Greene got a shop you can hang out in.

Million Goods, from founders Drew Kaufmann and Matt Reyer, is open at 201 DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene (Hypebeast reported it on October 7). The racks: Nicholas Daley, OAMC Peacemaker, Soulland, Rold Skov, LC23, Berner Kühl, Ranra and ssstein. The rest: two custom sound systems, a bar, a listening room and a natural wine list built around France. It opens at noon Tuesday through Sunday and stays open until midnight Thursday to Saturday. A clothing store open until midnight? That isn’t retail anymore. That’s a hangout, and people buy things at hangouts.

Sources: Hypebeast, Oct 7, 2026

eBay’s currency charge goes up October 14.

The numbers. When eBay converts your money for an item listed or sold on another eBay site, it keeps a conversion charge. For US sellers that charge is 3%. From October 14, 2026, it is 3.25%, according to eBay’s own fee page. Value Added Resource reports the same change for Canada on October 14, Australia on November 1, the UK (2.5% to 2.75%) on December 1, and Germany, France, Italy and Spain (3% to 3.25%) on December 2. It also reports that eBay posted no Seller Update about it, only notices on the fee pages. On $100 of converted sales, that is 25 cents more.

This only touches cross-border eBay sales. If you list on eBay’s UK or European sites, add the extra 0.25 points to your price math. If you only sell in the US, nothing changes for you.

Sources: eBay selling fees page, checked Oct 11, 2026 · Value Added Resource, Oct 3, 2026, updated Oct 6

USPS holiday deadlines start November 4.

The numbers. USPS published its recommended send-by dates in a press release on September 22. For the lower 48: Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail by Thursday, December 17; Priority Mail by Friday, December 18; Priority Mail Express by Saturday, December 19. International is much earlier: First-Class Package International and Priority Mail International by Wednesday, December 9. Military APO/FPO/DPO mail by Ground Advantage has the earliest deadline, Wednesday, November 4. USPS also notes that Hanukkah runs December 4 to 12 in 2026, earlier than usual.

Work backwards from these dates. Put an order-by date on every product page: December 17 minus your packing time for US orders, December 9 minus your packing time for international orders. If you have customers with APO addresses, tell them about November 4 now.

Sources: USPS holiday shipping dates, checked Oct 11, 2026 · USPS press release, Sep 22, 2026

The label checklist

In the US, the Textile Act and the Care Labeling Rule set what a clothing label must show. The FTC’s plain-English guides say:

• Three disclosures. Fiber content, country of origin, and either your company name or your RN.
• Fiber content. Any fiber under 5% goes on the label as “other fiber” or “other fibers.”
• Country of origin, at the neck. If the garment has a neck, the country of origin goes on the front of a label at the inside center of the neck.
• Swapping labels. If you remove a label that has required information, the new label needs your name or RN. Keep records for three years.
• Care label. It has to be attached permanently and stay readable for the life of the garment. You can use the ASTM care symbols, and you need reliable evidence that your care instructions work.

Why it matters to small labels: if you print on blanks and replace the neck tag with your own, that swap has rules. Read them before you order 300 woven labels, not after.

Drop 9’s Tech Pack Builder includes a section for trims, labeling and packaging, so your factory gets the label spec in writing. Build a tech pack

Sources: FTC, Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements (2014, edited Jan 2025) · FTC, Clothes Captioning: Complying with the Care Labeling Rule (2014) · Drop 9 Tech Pack Builder

Term to know: RN number

RN is short for Registered Identification Number. The FTC issues it, and you can put it on a label instead of your company name. You apply for one online with the FTC. It is one way to meet the name requirement above.

Sources: FTC, Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements