How Ye and Yeezy became major.....
Kanye West is one of the most iconic artist in history, even though his controversial approach has made him seem like an outcast, he has always seemed to prove a point down the line.
Just like in fashion and creps, Kanye has proven a point to have one of the fastest growing brands in trainers and streetwear, and to be one of the most iconic figures sneakerculture.
In this issue of CrepTalk we will be taking a look at how Kanye grew the Yeezy brand to become a slight rival to Jordan brand.
Wake Up Mr West...
Before we get into the prominent status of Yeezy, we definitely have to take a look at Kanye himself, a self proclaimed genius and fashion icon, Kanye was a South Side Chicago hip hop producer who also started rapping. After being signed by Jay Z to Roc Nation as a producer, Kanye was also plottiong to make moves in the fashion industry, often making it his aim to be an icon in the fashion industry.
Kanye's style was always unique, as by his debut album 'The College Dropout' he had many taking inspirations from his style, by which many started to pop their collars up on their Polos and instead of chunky Timberland boots and Air Forces, he had many wearing old school retro sneakers.
As Kanye started to gain recognition in Hip Hop, his recognition in fashion started to gain traction, as the attention from West's first album gained an iconic crossover with the Japanese brand A Bathing Ape, also most commonly know as BAPE.
From designing and colouring other peoples shoes, Kanye's fashion influence would climb even higher, as he would soon be called up to release his own sneaker.
Nike Dayz
While Kanye was recieving numerous accolades within hip hop and fashion, he finally achieved an accolade many artists dream of achieving, as in 2007 Kanye and Nike teamed up and in the 2008 Grammy Award show
, the Nike Air Yeezy 1 was introduced to the world during a tribute performance to his mother Donda West.
With the Nike Air Yeezy 1 being revealed, sneakerheads around the world waited for an expected release date. With months of rumors finally put to an end, the Nike Air Yeezy 1 was released in spring 2009, with extremely limited numbers. The Nike Air Yeezy was released in three colourways across three months, April, May and June, with the retail price of $215, which in todays retail market would be around $285.13, which is definitely a hefty price to pay, but also worth as Nike Air Yeezys resell for thousands.
By winter, it had seemed that the Nike Yeezys was a massive success, as fans and sneakerheads were going crazy over these creps, as it didn't take long for Kanye fans to ask for another release.
However as in usual Kanye fashion, annoucements of another release didn't come till 2 years after as Nike would announce the Air Yeezy 2, but in Kanye fashion, as Kanye would be spotted wearing a pair at Paris fashion week in February 2011.
Similar to the Yeezy 1, fans wouldn't see the Yeezy 2 till 2012 as the much antipated release was a hit selling out online in almost nano seconds.
The Yeezy 2 was originally released in 2 colourways,
Nike Air Yeezy 2 NRG "Solar Red"
Nike Air Yeezy 2 'Platinum'
The third release was the iconic 'Red October' Yeezy 2 which was released in February 2014. The Yeezy 2 was a massive success, which cemented Kanye as a fashion icon as many would search for a single pair of both the Yeezy 1 and 2, with millions being generated.
With all this you would think that the Nike and Kanye would be an Iconic duo in sneaker history and go on to do even more work together, however, this wasn't the case.
Trouble In Paradise
In fall 2012, Kanye and Nike had a falling out, as it was publicly revealed, that the deal signed with Nike did not meet the creative vision of Kanye.
Firstly Kanye's vision of having his own shoe was to make it accessible and to have more of a general release than Nike had envisioned, as with the limited quantities being produced, which Kanye disagreed with, he thought that everyone should be able to have a chance to get a pair, unfortunately for Kanye, this wasn't the case as he had limited creative control with Nike.
Furthermore, Nike was cutting Kanye a poor deal, as Kanye would have limited to no royalties from his Yeezy line. To be very honest this deal wasn't Nike's best, as the brand didn't necessarily want an artist to be the face of a brand for athletes.
These issues caused much strain with Nike and Kanye, a partnership which we may never see again
New Beginning
After Kanye's departure from Nike, many speculated what the artist will now move onto fashion wise as with two successful crep releases from Nike, it would be hard to imagine an artist like Kanye would give up the sneaker game.
After years of waiting, news about Kanye and sneakers would finally be reported, as in 2015, during the NBA All Star Weekend, which was alongside New York Fashion week, Kanye revealed his first sneaker since the Nike fallout.
As Kanye first revealed the Adidas Yeezy 750, many were hyped and excited to find the new partnership had been made.
With Kanye signing with Adidas, and giving him full creative control over the line, plus a 15% royalties deal, many could see that this partnership was going to have a bright future, and that it did with as the Adidas Yeezy line would gross millions in sales just following its release of the Yeezy 350 'Bred' which sold out in nano seconds much like the Nike Air Yeezy 2.
To make things worse Kanye dropped a diss track to Nike naming it 'Facts'
Fast foward to present day and the Yeezy x Adidas hype train hasn't slowed down as both Adidas and Nike are still at a tight race, as with Kanye now backing Adidas things can only get more competitive.
I cant lie I really rate Kanye on his drive and ambition to become a fashion Icon and not accept anything less especially with the Nike deal, it should be a lesson to creatives out there to know what you bring and never accept anything less.
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