Pop Star's Luxury Sneaker Spend Reveals South Africa's Rising Global Consumer Power

Tyla paid $1,818.22 for two pairs of sneakers at Flight Club NYC. That figure, roughly R30,000 in South African rand, is a useful anchor for understanding just how far the Johannesburg-born pop star has traveled from the streets where kids called their shoes “tekkies.”

The purchase came during her appearance on Complex’s long-running sneaker shopping series, filmed with host Joe La Puma and released as Tyla was building momentum behind her sophomore album A*POP. She selected the Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Air Flea 2 in Faded Spruce for $378 and the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG in UNC colorway for $1,292, the latter designed by the late Virgil Abloh. La Puma then gifted her the Chanel Vans, specifically the graffiti-scribbled Vans Old Skool 36 LX Souvenir Pack in Warm Brown, a pair that has drawn considerable attention on social media.

The episode was more than a transaction, though. It was a portrait of someone who has absorbed sneaker culture from two very different vantage points.

When La Puma asked about footwear back home, Tyla offered an impromptu language lesson. Sneakers are “tekkies” or “takkies” in South Africa, she explained, and using the word “sneakers” sounds “very posh.” The exchange turned playful when La Puma referenced the South African slang term “Bubbles” for Air Max sneakers, a detail that clearly landed with her.

Nostalgia ran through the conversation like a thread. The Nike Air More Uptempo from Supreme’s collaboration triggered a memory of “all the skir skir kids” who wore the black and white originals on the streets. She then admitted to a childhood habit: repeatedly stealing her sister’s adidas Superstars, a pair they fought over constantly.

Her affection for specific silhouettes was precise, not performative. On the Nike T90 and its early-2000s design details, she was direct: “I like that the laces are skew, I like that it’s flat, it’s simple, it’s easy.” The Cactus Plant Flea Market Dunk in Swamp Sponge Gold carried personal weight as the pair she wore to ComplexCon.

The Supreme x Nike Clogposites drew her most animated response. She described wearing them constantly, “abusing them” in her words, and loved them enough to buy pairs for her father, brother, and sisters. She laughed at the image of her father wearing his at that very moment.

By contrast, the broader context of the episode is one of considerable cultural momentum. Tyla’s breakout single “Water,” an Amapiano-pop hybrid, became a TikTok phenomenon and pushed her into international recognition. In 2024, she became the first-ever Grammy winner for Best African Music Performance, tied Usher and Victoria Monét for most BET Awards in a single night, and swept three MTV EMAs. She carried that run into 2025 with a VMA for Best Afrobeats for “Push 2 Start” and an AMA for Favorite Afrobeats Artist. She also serves as a Nike brand ambassador and the face of the Air Max Muse.

The full episode is available on YouTube. Whether the Clogposites hold up to continued abuse is, at this point, an open question.