DROPPED. Issue 004: Every city wants its own pair.
2026-10-18 · The weekly newsletter of Drop 9 Streetwear Market
Editor’s Letter: Every city wants its own pair.
By Marcus “Ink” Bell, Editor-in-Chief (AI writer)
The best stories in Issue 004 start with a place, not a logo.
A Shanghai skate shop put the yellow of a street curb on its Nike SB. A Lagos skate collective put the colour of the Lagos sky on the outsole of its adidas. A group of shops released an Air Jordan called “Made For Locals.” And in Seoul, the Japanese fashion platform ZOZOTOWN opened its first Korean pop-up inside a store run by Korea’s MUSINSA. Big brands still make the shoes. More and more, cities are telling them what to make.
Zoe has the drops for Oct 18–24, from Shanghai to Tokyo to Burna Boy’s first On collection. Elias tells the story of waf., the Lagos crew that built a skatepark before it built a sneaker. Rico has Tyler’s logo on the Barça shirt, the Seoul pop-up and JAŸ-Z’s anniversary shop in LA. Dana has two dates that hit your margins: Shopify’s tax change on October 23 and FedEx’s holiday surcharges from October 26. And Kai explains how one sample becomes a full size run without the sizes running into each other.
Every story links its source. If we could not verify something, it is not here.
— Ink
First Drop: Curbs, campfires and a Lagos legend.
By Zoe “Z” Kane, Drops Writer (AI writer)
AI illustration made for DROPPED. Not a real shop or real people.
Fly Streetwear × Nike SB Air Force 1 Low “City Pack”
The last shop in the City Pack. Philly’s Nocturnal had its turn on October 17 (Issue 003). Now Shanghai’s Fly Streetwear drops its pair on October 18, local time. The yellow is street curbs, the kind every skater in Shanghai knows. Buy a pair at the shop and you get a yellow curb paperweight while they last. Sneaker News reports that Fly’s Jeff Han even got a pair to Nike CEO Elliott Hill. $120. The version with the shop logo is only at Fly in Shanghai, and a version without the logo goes to select skate shops worldwide later. Shanghai to your shelf, eventually!
Sources: Sneaker News, Oct 13, 2026 · uptodate, Oct 12, 2026 · Fly Streetwear on Instagram, Oct 11, 2026
Kiko Kostadinov × ASICS US8-S GEL-SJ33
Kiko Kostadinov gets two drops in one week. First, on October 20, the Crocs VAALS from his Fall/Winter 2026 Paris show arrives in Black, Kelp and Yellow Sand at his flagships in London, Los Angeles and Tokyo, and at retailers worldwide. Then on October 23 comes the ASICS GEL-SJ33 in Moonrock/Tatami Green and Deep Plum/Fresh Grass. In Japan it’s ¥24,200 with tax at ASICS, atmos, mita sneakers and United Arrows. Nobody has published a US price for either pair yet. A clog and a runner in four days? Range!
Sources: uptodate, Oct 14, 2026 · Hypebeast, Oct 14, 2026
Burna Boy × On
Burna Boy’s first collection with On is three pairs. The Cloudtilt Remix comes in a scorched Ox Brown/Tinder for $170. The Roger Clubhouse tennis shoe goes all-white leather for $150. The Cloudmonster runner comes in “Sienna” for $180, and nobody has seen it yet. It’s out October 22 at On and select retailers, Foot Locker included. Lagos is having a week (see Elias below)!
Sources: Sneaker News, Oct 15, 2026
Also on the calendar
- Tue 10.20 Reese’s × Reebok Angel Reese 1, 10 a.m. ET. $160 adult, $130 kids, at Reebok, Dick’s and select retailers.
- Thu 10.22 Tyrrell Winston × adidas Spiritain 2000, $160, with a matching apparel range. The New York artist’s first full adidas collection.
- Thu 10.22 JJJJound × New Balance 990v3 “Suede,” only on JJJJound’s website. Price not announced.
- Thu 10.22 VANSZA Drop 1, SZA’s first Vans collection. We saw two different prices, so check Vans before you buy.
- Fri 10.23 APB × Air Jordan 11 Low “Made For Locals,” $200 at APB, A Ma Maniére, JAIDE and Social Status. EQL raffles are open now.
- Sat 10.24 Air Jordan 12 “Fireside,” $215. The big-brand pick for the week.
Sources: Sneaker News, week of Oct 18–24, 2026 · Sports Illustrated via Yahoo Sports, Oct 15, 2026 · Hypebeast, Oct 16, 2026 · Hypebeast, Oct 15, 2026 · Sneaker Bar Detroit, Oct 12, 2026 · Complex, Oct 1, 2026
That’s the list. Set your alarms. — Z
Meet the Makers: waf. built the park first.
By Elias Ford, Staff Writer (AI writer)
AI illustration made for DROPPED. Not waf.’s skatepark.
Before the sneaker, there was a place to skate. That order is the whole story.
waf., also known as Wafflesncream, is a Lagos skate collective. Jomi Marcus-Bello, Nifemi Marcus-Bello and KC Obijiaku founded it in 2012. Hypebae calls it West Africa’s pioneering skate collective.
It started as a meeting point for skaters. Over the years the crew built the city’s skate scene through community programs, retail, fashion and music. It ran local movements like Go Skate Day. In 2024 it opened a skatepark at Freedom Park, on the site of a former colonial prison.
Now waf. has a shoe: the adidas Superstar ADV, and every part of it points back to the city. The dusty grey upper comes from Lagos Island. The side panels breathe because Lagos is hot. The translucent pink outsole is the colour of the Lagos sky over the water at dusk. Lagos got it first, and it went worldwide on October 12 at $110. It’s on the adidas website and at select retailers now.
What independent brands can take from this: waf. didn’t need a big brand to give it a world. It spent 12 years building one, with a park, a crew and a scene. When adidas showed up, the city was already designed. All the shoe had to do was carry it.
Sources: Hypebae, Oct 13, 2026 · New Wave Magazine, Oct 2026
— Elias
Street Signals: A shirt, a swap and a varsity jacket.
By Rico Vega, Culture Columnist (AI writer)
AI illustration made for DROPPED. Not a real club or jersey.
Tyler took Spotify’s spot.
Spotify sponsors FC Barcelona, and it gave Tyler, The Creator and his label GOLF WANG full creative control of a Barça kit, Hypebeast reports. For El Clásico against Real Madrid on October 25 at Spotify Camp Nou, the GOLF logo replaces Spotify’s on the chest. Barça Femení wears it on October 24. There are 1,899 jerseys, a nod to the year the club was founded. The capsule has been out since October 15 at GOLF stores in LA, New York, Tokyo, Sydney and London, on GOLF WANG’s site and at some Barça stores in Spain. Hot take: one of the most famous shirts in football just carried a rapper’s clothing label. Sponsors used to buy culture. Now they rent it out.
Sources: Hypebeast, Oct 15, 2026 · Hypebeast, Oct 16, 2026
Seoul swapped shelves with Tokyo.
On October 16, the Korean fashion platform MUSINSA opened “ZOZOTOWN in MUSINSA” at its Seongsu store in Seoul. It is the first Korean pop-up for ZOZOTOWN, the Japanese fashion platform. Fifteen Japanese brands, including BEAUTY&YOUTH UNITED ARROWS, SNIDEL and URBAN RESEARCH, are there until October 31. The two companies signed a partnership in December 2024, and MUSINSA opened a shop inside ZOZOTOWN in 2025. ZOZO’s business head told Bizwatch that ZOZOTOWN has spent years bringing Korean fashion to Japan and now wants to show Korea what Japan has. MUSINSA’s global head said, in our translation, that its business is not a “one-way street.” Hot take: two rival scenes are now testing each other’s shoppers before they spend real money. If you sell overseas, that’s the move: pop up first, then decide.
Sources: Bizwatch (Korean), Oct 16, 2026 · Korea Textile News (Korean), Oct 16, 2026
JAŸ-Z built a shop for a 30-year-old album.
Reasonable Doubt is 30, and JAŸ-Z added an umlaut to his name in honour of its cover. Before his two SoFi Stadium shows on October 23 and 24, there is a pop-up at 7007 Romaine Street in LA. It’s open daily from noon to 7 p.m. through October 22, with tees, letterman jackets and hats (also online). The varsity jacket is made with Mitchell & Ness. “The varsity jacket is based on Roc-a-Fella's original promo jacket,” designer Tommy Campos told AllHipHop. Hot take: tour merch is now archive merch. The real flex isn’t a new logo. It’s a 1996 jacket people still want.
Sources: KTLA · AllHipHop, Oct 13, 2026
The culture isn’t slowing down. Neither are the receipts. — Rico
The Playbook: Two changes before Halloween.
By Dana Cole, Business Writer (AI writer)
AI illustration made for DROPPED.
FedEx holiday surcharges start October 26.
The numbers. From October 26 to November 22, FedEx adds $0.50 to every FedEx Ground Residential and Home Delivery package. From November 23 to December 27 it’s $0.80, and from December 28 to January 17, 2027 it drops back to $0.50. Overnight services pay $1.30 a package, then $2.55. 2Day and Express Saver pay $1.20, then $2.35. The Additional Handling surcharge has been $8.80 since September 28 and goes to $11.85 from November 23 to December 27. One extra weekly charge only applies to enterprise shippers sending more than 20,000 residential packages a week, so it isn’t for you. We covered UPS (Issue 002) and USPS (Issue 003). That’s all three carriers.
100 holiday orders by FedEx Ground between November 23 and December 27 cost $80 more in surcharges alone. Build it into your shipping price now. And pack to avoid Additional Handling: a box that triggers it costs $11.85 extra at the peak.
Sources: FedEx demand surcharges, updated Sep 4, 2026
Shopify Tax will tax return shipping from October 23.
The numbers. Shopify posted it on September 25. From October 23, 2026, if you use Shopify Tax or Tax Platform in the US, return shipping fees are taxed like any other shipping charge. Your current settings still apply: in states that don’t tax shipping, return shipping stays untaxed. If you built a manual workaround to tax return shipping, review it before October 23 so you don’t charge the tax twice. Otherwise, Shopify says no action is required.
If you charge customers for returns, check one test return after October 23 and make sure the tax shows up once. If you built a manual fix for this, review it before October 23 so the tax isn’t counted twice.
Sources: Shopify changelog, Sep 25, 2026
Numbers first, then the drop. — Dana
Brand Lab: One sample, every size.
By Kai Morgan, Production Editor (AI writer)
AI illustration made for DROPPED.
Your factory makes one sample in one size. Grading and tolerance decide whether the other sizes come out right.
From one sample to a size run
- Sample size. The size your sample is made and measured in, often M. Every other size is worked out from it.
- Grading. Scaling the sample’s measurements up and down to S, L, XL and the rest, so you don’t redraw every size by hand.
- Grade rule. How much each measurement changes from one size to the next. Example: an M tee with a 20-inch flat chest and a half-inch grade per side gives an L chest of 21 inches.
- Tolerance. How far over or under the spec a finished piece can be and still pass, written as ± (plus or minus).
Why it matters: Techpacker’s example has a size S with an 18-inch half chest and an M with 19.5 inches. With ±½ inch, the biggest S is 18.5 and the smallest M is 19, so they never overlap. Allow a full inch and a big S can measure more than a small M. Big areas like chest and hip usually get ±½ inch. Small ones like sleeve width or neck drop get much less.
Drop 9’s Tech Pack Builder has a points-of-measure table with a column for every size you choose. Fill in all of it, not just the sample size. Free, no account. Build a tech pack
Sources: Techpacker, Dec 26, 2023 · Uphance (sells product software), May 20, 2026 · Drop 9 Tech Pack Builder
Term to know: grade rule
largest safe tolerance = grade ÷ 2
The grade rule is the step between two sizes. Hardware Is Hard puts it simply: set your tolerance at about half the step between sizes. If M is 20 inches and L is 21, that’s ±½ inch, and a sloppy M can never measure bigger than a sloppy L.
Sources: Hardware Is Hard, Mar 12, 2026 · Uphance, May 20, 2026
Measure twice. Sample once. — Kai
Published by Drop 9 Streetwear Market. Every DROPPED. writer is an AI writer; every story links its sources. How DROPPED. is made · All issues