Streetwear, sneakers, and fashion are coming together more and more as the digital age continues to bring people together.
Discord, the multi-faceted platform, is the epitome of the modern crossover as hype meets community.
Launched in 2015, Discord hosts communities (servers) and allows users to communicate via voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files.
But Discord is more than just a platform — it’s turned into an ecosystem of its own. Cook groups, Travis Scott servers, Hat Club, and other communities have turned Discord into a home and making the sneaker, streetwear, and fashion worlds have planted their roots within Discord.
We spoke with Discord’s Senior Manager of Community Mindy Day about working with the company, what makes its servers different, and what to expect in the future.
Nice Kicks: Discord is at the forefront of so many industry facets from community to hype and beyond. How is the platform innovating with so much growth & possibilities?
Mindy Day: Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen all types of interest-led communities join Discord, especially as more and more people began to connect online during the pandemic and explore new passions
What has made – and continues to make – Discord so special is that it offers everyone a place to hang out and spend quality time with friends and communities. That’s the magic of Discord.
We’ve seen people from all over the world come together on Discord to make new friends and connect over shared passions. Amongst our most successful communities include servers centered around sneakers, fashion, and streetwear.
Over the past year, Discord communities for sneaker and streetwear culture have grown as we’ve continued to expand beyond gaming. From the news on the latest collaborations to DIY channels and sneaker showcases, people on Discord are bringing their own creativity and passion to elevate the culture as a whole.
As Discord becomes the home for online communities, we’re focused on investing in Communities and making Discord the best possible experience for our users. Earlier this year, we introduced new tools and features to invest in these spaces and help members of large communities get the most out of Discord.
We recently introduced AutoMod, a new moderation tool built directly into Discord to help protect Communities so everyone can find belonging within a safeguarded environment, as well as new educational and networking resources for admins to build and sustain their Communities. Through this work, we’re designing Discord for all the shapes and sizes of communities that call our service home.
NK: A perfect example of Discord’s fame is Travis Scott’s channel. What does it mean for Discord to have such a monumental role in one of the most culturally relevant stars in music, streetwear, and sneakers?
MD: Travis Scott is one of many amazing artists who call Discord home. As we all know, he’s such a massive name in the music industry, and is heavily involved in sneaker and streetwear culture with his Cactus Jack apparel and numerous sneaker collaborations. It’s no question that Scott is a trendsetter and builds hype within the community.
With over 20,000 members, what’s awesome is that this server has become a place where his fans can bond over their love for him as an artist, as well as the larger music, streetwear, and sneaker culture as a whole.
Finding this type of connection and friendship on a server like Scott’s encapsulates what Discord is all about, and only further highlights our mission, which is to give people the power to create belonging in their lives.
NK: Discord is evolving from partnerships with Collegium to StockX. Are there any other partnerships or collaborations we can expect in the near future?
MD: Collegium, Stockx, and Discord share a similar mission of inclusivity and fostering community.
While we have no future collaborations to announce at this moment, keep an eye out on our blog and stay tuned for any new updates.
NK: Discord is very much about creating & cultivating moments in the digital space. Does Discord plan on bringing/creating in-person experiences with partners or channels?
MD: We’re always looking to cultivate new and fun experiences for our users. We definitely plan to continue prioritizing digital experiences, but we do have a renewed focus on in-person ones, as we look to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds.
Just this year we started returning to in-person events for the first time since the pandemic via on-site experiences and partnerships with PAX East, VidCon, and Lollapalooza — each of which featured tailored ways for attendees to interact with us onsite.
With Lollapalooza, this marked our first official music festival sponsorship and we actually worked with the organizers to create a server that enabled fans to access festival maps, performance schedules, and more.
Through this partnership, we were able to speak directly to artists, their teams, and the music community.
NK: What more can we expect from Discord in the future?
MD: We’re constantly looking ahead to see what more we can do to serve our mission, and we are energized by the creative ways people are using our service every day. We’re always listening to feedback and will continue to make Discord the best experience we can for these communities.
One area I’m excited about, and that is a particular area of focus for us, is in building new ways to support, educate and inspire community builders on Discord. Fans wanting to build their servers can learn best practices at Discord.com/Community.
NK: What’s been one of the highlights of being a part of Discord?
MD: My favorite part of working for Discord is getting to witness firsthand the magic we bring to so many people’s lives. I never, ever tire of hearing how Discord has made such an impact on people, allowing them to find those who share their interests outside of their immediate locale and make lifelong friends.
I feel incredibly lucky to get to work for such an impactful company and want to ensure we continue being a place that helps keep the internet a friendly, positive place to be
Keep it locked on Nice Kicks for more features and news across the sneaker, streetwear, and fashion communities.
