The story of Kanye West and adidas collaboration is over. Here’s a look back at what it was like

The adidas and Kanye West collaboration is one of the longest and most influential in the fashion and design industry, and their Yeezy Boost sneakers were truly revolutionary. The collaboration, which lasted nearly 10 years, ended in October 2022. Why did this happen when the alliance brought billions to both parties?

The beginning of the collaboration: from Nike to adidas

The cooperation between Kanye and adidas began in 2013, when the joint project adidas Yeezy appeared. It happened right after the breakup of the rapper’s relationship with Nike.

Nike Air Yeezy 2

There were several reasons why they parted ways: the musician didn’t feel part of the team, and also (according to Nike’s policy) couldn’t receive royalties from the sales of the joint product. The company explained this by the fact that the brand only signs contracts with athletes. This was the reason for the rapper’s displeasure:

I want royalties. Michael Jordan gets 5% of two billion dollars – that’s a hundred million a year. And I’m packing tens of thousands of people into Madison Square Garden, I’m a professional entertainer. My sport is performing.

Kanye West

The contract was terminated after three years of collaboration. During that time, the world saw the Nike Air Yeezy 1 and Nike Air Yeezy 2.

Nike Air Yeezy 1

Million dollar royalties

On December 3, 2013, adidas offered the rapper $10 million and a percentage of sales, and in an official statement on the occasion of the start of the collaboration, called West “one of the most influential cultural icons of his generation”. The main condition of the brand was to work not only on shoes, but to create a sub-brand of clothing, shoes and accessories that will cover the market completely. The format of promotion and presentation will be different from the standard adidas work.

The first release of Yeezy sneakers came out in February 2015. According to some reports, nine thousand pairs at $ 350 sold out in minutes. The following collections were even more successful. Kanye actively promoted new models, and adidas was not partial with releases, competently warming up the interest of buyers.

Yeezy Boost 750

So Yeezy Boost became an object of adoration for fashionable youth around the world. If earlier people stood in 10-hour lines and camped at the entrance to the store for the sake of a new pair of sneakers from Michael Jordan, now they are ready to sacrifice time and money for the sake of shoes from Kanye West.

The limited edition Yeezy Boost 750 of nine thousand pairs sold out in 10 minutes. In the summer, the Yeezy Boost 350 went on sale, one of the most popular versions of the sneaker, which has gained cult status in the world.

Yeezy Boost 350 v2

In 2021, Kanye’s fortune was estimated at a record $6.6 billion. The vast majority of West’s fortune is tied to his clothing business: according to a report released in February, the combined value of West’s Yeezy sneaker partnership with adidas and his clothing line with Gap is between $3.2 million and $4.7 million.

Yeezy Slide

In December 2019, the Yeezy Slide was born, ushering in the flip-flop era by competing with clogs. It was with this model that the disagreement between the brand and the rapper began.

Loss of control and the breakup of the relationship

On October 25, 2022, the German brand decided to completely break the contract with the rapper after several loud statements by West. Judging by the statements, the rapper’s discontent had been building for a long time: West believes that he has lost control over Yeezy shoes, and important decisions on development strategy are made without his participation.

First, as the rapper believes, the company deliberately moved away from technology, which affected the comfort of one of the sneaker models. This is the Yeezy Knit Runner.

Yeezy Knit Runner

“We made this shoe, this knit running shoe. I told them, ‘This is supposed to be a marathon shoe.’ And they turned out to be the most uncomfortable Yeezy ever – intentionally,” Kanye revealed in an interview.

Second, the last Yeezy Day, which was not coordinated with the rapper, the re-release of old versions of the shoes, changes in colors and hiring of new employees took place without his involvement.

Third, style copying and plagiarism. In 2022, adidas released the Adilette 22 flip-flops, which, according to the rapper, are a complete plagiarism of the Yeezy Slide. He stated this on his social media page, but then deleted the publication. “This model embodies all the disrespect that those in power have for creators,” Kanye wrote.

Adilette 22

However, after all the rapper’s remarks, the German company continued to talk about the excellent relationship within the union:

Kanye is our most important partner in the whole world. We have a very, very good relationship. We communicate with him all the time and we are very proud of this relationship.

However, already on October 25, 2022, the German company decided to completely break the contract with the rapper. This is not the first brand to make such a decision regarding the musician, who appeared in a longsleeve with the inscription “White lives matter” and made several anti-Semitic statements. After that, the rapper was blocked in major social networks, Gap and fashion house Balenciaga stopped cooperating with him.

Representatives of adidas said they do not support anti-Semitism and any hate speech. The company says West’s words violate their values. Because of the termination of West’s contract, adidas will lose $246 million.

It’s time for me to act alone. That’s great. I’ve made the companies money. The companies have made money for me. We created ideas that would change clothing forever. Like the round jacket, the foam sneakers, the flip-flops that changed the shoe industry. Now it’s time for Ye to create a new industry. No more companies standing between me and the audience.

Kanye West