Yeezy is the term for Ye's clothing and apparel releases, which were done through a collaboration with Adidas. The partnership was launched in February 2015 with the release of Boost 750, and ended in 2022 due to controversies involving Ye and a strained relationship between the two parties.[1]
The partnership was accompanied by some temporary arrangements with GAP (2020-2022) and Balenciaga (2022).
History[]
2006-2014: Predecessors[]
Yeezy dates back to a shoe design that Ye made for Adidas in 2006 that was never released. It was a white shoe that featured the Dropout Bear on its tongue.[2] Between 2006 and 2015, Ye worked with Bape, Louis Vuitton, and Nike, with all the partnerships being either one-time things or temporary compared to the Ye x Adidas partnership. One of the best-known collaborations that came out of this period were the Air Yeezy 1, Air Yeezy 2, and "Red October" Air Yeezy 2s that were made in collaboration with Nike.[3][4]
2015-2019: Peak Adidas partnership[]
- Launch
- Footwear
- Fashion shows
The Yeezy brand made U.S. sports headlines when NFL athlete DeAndre Hopkins was fined $6,076 for equipment violation for wearing the Yeezy 350 Boosts cleats, which did not abide by NFL guidelines of having a solid base color.[5]
2020-present: Temporary partnerships and Adidas termination[]
- YZY GAP
- YZY GAP Engineered by Balenciaga
- End of YZY GAP
- Ye saying he wants to end his corporate deals
In response to his comments on corporate partnerships, Adidas issued a statement that announced that their partnership is "under review" on October 6.[6] One week later, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that they were ending their banking relationship with Yeezy in November, requesting the brand to find another bank to work with.[7] These responses also came around the same time that Ye entered new controversy for wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt, as well as posting controversial tweets aimed at Jewish people.
On October 25, Adidas announced that their partnership with Ye was terminated effective immediately, adding that they retain the rights to "existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership."[8]
It was later reported that the partnership's end led to Ye's net worth going from $2 billion to $400 million.[9] Only one day after the news, Ye made a surprise appearance at a Skechers office in Los Angeles, only to be escorted out with a statement from the company announcing no interest in partnering with him.[10]
Products[]
See also: Adidas Yeezy#Footwear
- Yeezy Boost 750 (Feb. 2015)
- Yeezy Boost 350 (Jun. 2015)
- Yeezy 950 (Oct. 2015)
- Yeezy 350 Cleat (Sep. 2016)
- Yeezy Powerphase Calabasas (Mar. 2017)
- Yeezy Boost 700 (Aug. 2017)
- Yeezy 500 (Dec. 2017)
- Yeezy Boost 380 (Dec. 2019)
- Yeezy Slide (Dec. 2019)
- Yeezy QNTM BSKTBL (spring 2020)
- Yeezy Foam Runner (June 2020)
- Yeezy 450 (Mar. 2021)
- Yeezy Knit Runner (Sep. 2021)
- Yeezy NSLTD Boot (Nov. 2021)
- Yeezy BSKTBL Knit (Dec. 2021)
- Yeezy 1050 (TBA)
Fashion shows[]
- Yeezy Season 1 (Feb. 2015)
- Yeezy Season 2
- Yeezy Season 3
- Yeezy Season 4
- Yeezy Season 5
- Yeezy Season 6
- Yeezy Season 7
- Yeezy Season 8
- Yeezy Season 9 (Oct. 2022)
References[]
- ↑ Adidas Yeezy on Wikipedia.
- ↑ "A Rare Look At The adidas Shoe Kanye West Designed A Decade Ago" by Patrick Johnson. Sneaker News. April 18, 2016.
- ↑ "The Kanye West Sneaker Collaboration That’s Cooler Than Yeezys" by Jake Woolf. GQ. January 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Kanye West x Louis Vuitton Sneaker Collection Selling on eBay for $60K" by Jennie Bell. Footwear News. October 23, 2015.
- ↑ "DeAndre Hopkins fined for Yeezy 350 Boosts cleats designed by Kanye West" by Sarah Barshop. ESPN. September 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Kanye West’s Adidas Partnership Is 'Under Review'" by Matthew Strauss. Pitchfork. October 6, 2022.
- ↑ "JP Morgan Chase bank cuts ties with Kanye West after anti-Semitic comments" by Nicki Cox. Page Six. October 12, 2022.
- ↑ Golden, Jessica (October 25, 2022). "Adidas terminates Ye partnership, Gap removes Yeezy items over rapper's antisemitic remarks". CNBC. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
- ↑ Voytko, Lisette (October 25, 2022). "Billionaire No More: Kanye West's Antisemitism Obliterates His Net Worth As Adidas Cuts Ties". Forbes. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
- ↑ Calia, Mike (October 26, 2022). "Ye escorted out of Skechers office in Los Angeles after he showed up unannounced". CNBC. Retrieved October 29, 2022.