Kanye West originally designed a shoe for Adidas in 2006, but it was never released. The first brand to officially collaborate with Kanye West was Bape. Together, West and Bape released a pair of Bapesta “College Dropout” shoes, which are now quite rare and garner high resell prices. He has also designed shoes for Louis Vuitton and Giuseppe Zanotti, and (most notably) Nike. His collaboration with Nike lasted for five years and led to the release of a total of three (two silhouettes, the Air Yeezy 1 and the Air Yeezy 2) sneaker styles.
In 2013, after the release of the “Red October” Air Yeezy 2s, Kanye West officially left Nike. Although West described this break as “heartbreaking”, he claimed that Nike would not pay him royalties for his shoe designs, instead offering to pay some of the proceeds to a charity of West’s choice. This ultimately led West to reach out to Adidas. Adidas agreed to give him royalties, and West described the CEO of Adidas as “someone who allowed [him] to build something”. Under the partnership with Adidas, West retains 100% ownership of his brand while having full creative control over the products released.
In February 2015, a year and three months after the confirmation of the Adidas and Kanye West collaboration, the collaboration officially debuted. “Yeezy Season 1” was highly anticipated and celebrities such as Rihanna, Diddy, and West’s wife Kim Kardashian were at the showing. “Yeezy Season 2” and “Yeezy Season 3” also saw notable amounts of success upon their releases.
In June 2016, West and Adidas announced an extension of the deal and the launch of a new Yeezy category.
By 2019, sales for Yeezy’s Adidas sneakers generated $1.3 billion in annual revenue.
In 2020, sales for the sneakers reached nearly $1.7 billion in annual revenue, netting Yeezy $191 million in royalties.
Clothing
“Yeezy Season 1” was released on October 29, 2015, and was the first apparel collection to release from this collaboration. This collection was noted for its stripped-down, ready-to-wear style, which drew on military clothing and flesh-toned colors. The prices ranged from $600 for sweatpants to $3,000 for jackets. Although the footwear sold out quickly, the apparel collection did not. West revealed in a 2018 interview that he was in talks with Louis Vuitton for a $30 million apparel deal. The deal was not approved by the LVMH board and West was left with no clothing partners. After the “Yeezy Season 1” show, Adidas announced they would no longer be a part of Yeezy apparel, instead focusing on the footwear collection with West.
With Yeezy Season 4 Adidas and West re-introduced several articles of clothing with Adidas branding. Season 6 premiered in January 2018, with an ad campaign featuring porn star Lela Star (noted for her resemblance to Kim Kardashian), as well as Paris Hilton and other models. The participants were made up to look like Kardashian. West would later use Star again as a model for a June 2018 shoe campaign.
Footwear
Through a combination of factors including popularization by celebrities, Adidas Yeezy sneakers have come to be extremely influential and highly coveted.
Most of the shoes utilize Adidas’s Boost material.
Yeezy Boost 750
On December 3, 2013, Adidas confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West. The initial release of the Adidas Yeezy Boost 750 “Light Brown” was limited to 9000 pairs and sold out within 10 minutes. Between February 21 and February 28, the Yeezy Boost 750 “Light Brown” was available through a wider range of retailers and boutiques.
Yeezy Boost 350
Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 in the “Pirate Black” colorway
On June 27, 2015, the second shoe from the collaboration, the Yeezy Boost 350 was made available through a worldwide release. The Yeezy Boost 350 marked an entry into primeknit technology, utilizing flat knitting machinery amalgamated with synthetic yarns. A preliminary version was made of a combination of petroleum-based ethylene-vinyl acetate and foam generated from algae.
On September 24, 2016, a second version of the shoe, known as Yeezy Boost 350 V2, debuted in a colorway called “Beluga.”
Yeezy 950
The Yeezy 950 was first released on October 29, 2015 at select retail stores and online. It was part of the Yeezy season 1 collection and came in four different colorways: Peyote, Moonrock, Chocolate, and Pirate black. Each shoe was retailed at $399. “The Adidas Yeezy 950 extended the Kanye West and Adidas partnership outside of the sneaker space with its military duckboot inspired design. There are more releases of more Yeezy shoes than have been successful (2015- past 2021) that show Yeezy brand as more prudent for consumers.
Yeezy 350 Cleat
The Adidas Yeezy 350 Football Boost cleat was for football and it had made its first appearance in a 2016 NFL kickoff game. Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined $6,000 for wearing the cleats because they broke the NFL uniform policy by not having a solid base color.
Yeezy Powerphase Calabasas
The Adidas Powerphase Calabasas was released on March 28, 2017. “The retro sneakers are an update of an Adidas trainer from the ’80s. They feature a premium white leather upper with perforated stripes, green Adidas branding, and a red Trefoil logo.” A tonal grey colorway released globally on December 9, 2017 for a retail price of $120; a “Core Black” colorway released shortly after on March 17, 2018. After the initial 3 colorways of the Yeezy Powerphase Calabasas, Adidas then continued releasing several Powerphase models without the Yeezy Calabasas branding. Adidas then brought back the ’80s Adidas Trainer model that is the “YEEZY-Inspired Powerphase Model.”
Yeezy Boost 700
The Adidas Yeezy Boost 700 debuted during the Yeezy Season 5 fashion show in 2017. The shoe was released on August 12, 2017, for $300, exclusively via Yeezy Supply. At the time, two colorways of white/gum and black were also expected to release in 2018.
On March 23, 2019, the 700 V2 “Geode” colorway was released synchronously with a nationwide lemonade stand charity campaign raising money for the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
On December 23, 2019, a third version of the 700 series, known as Yeezy 700 V3, debuted in a colorway called “Azael.”
A new variation of the 700 series, the Yeezy Boost 700 MNVN, debuted in a colorway known as “Triple Black” on February 8, 2020. Similar to previous models, the shoe differs by displaying the “700” branding on the upper using compact materials.
Yeezy 500
The Adidas Yeezy 500 was released in December 2017, as a pre-order with delivery slated for March 2018. The debut colorway was known as “Desert Rat.”
A high-top variation of the model, known as the Yeezy 500 High, was released in December 2019. The debut colorway was known as “Slate.”
Yeezy Boost 380
The first Adidas Yeezy Boost 380 was released in December 2019, as a surprise release on West’s clothing launch site Yeezy Supply. The debut colorway was known as “Alien.”
Yeezy Slide
The first Adidas Yeezy Slide was released in December 2019, in a debut colorway known as “Bone.” The slides are made of EVA foam.
Yeezy QNTM BSKTBL
The Yeezy QNTM BSKTBL was released in the Spring of 2020 and serves as a performance version of the Yeezy QNTM (Lifestyle Model) geared for the hardwood.
Yeezy Foam Runner
The Yeezy Foam Runner is the first Adidas Yeezy shoe made in the United States and first released exclusively through Yeezy Supply on June 26, 2020. The shoe retailed for $75 and was partially made of harvested algae. The debut colorway was known as “Ararat”.
Yeezy 450
The Adidas Yeezy 450 debuted on March 6, 2021 with a debut colorway called “Cloud White”, which was later followed by the “Dark Slate” colorway. The shoe retailed at $200 USD.
Yeezy Knit Runner
The Adidas Yeezy Knit Runner (stylized as Knit RNR) debuted on September 23, 2021, with a debut colorway called “Sulfur.” The shoe retailed at $200 USD. The Knit Runner takes inspiration from the Yeezy Foam Runner silhouette while being predominantly made of knitted material.
