Yeezy, after immense criticism, was supposed to be terminated. But why are shoes still being sold?
First created in 2009, the iconic brand Yeezy was a collaboration with the brand Adidas and the famous rap artist Kanye West.
However, this wasn’t always the case: The original Yeezy brand instead existed as a collaboration between West and Nike. This collaboration lasted a few years, until 2013, when West moved over to Adidas, who provided him with more creative freedom and helped him redefine the brand. Adidas agreed to give West royalties for the brands under the condition that they would own the entire brand except the name, which belonged fully to West.
With the drop of its first product, the “Boost 750” sneaker, the brand became wildly popular, and many Yeezy shoes were considered high-end and extremely limited. Building off its growing fanbase, the Yeezy brand expanded into producing accessories, hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets and more. It was so successful that in 2020, Yeezy partnered with the brand Gap and created the Yeezy Gap line.
The brand was thriving until 2022, when a series of antisemitic remarks made by West surfaced, blowing up across news and social media platforms. Immense backlash ensued as fans, celebrities, and ultimately, brands, cut ties with the rapper. In late October 2022, Adidas officially ended its partnership with West and announced that it would no longer sell or produce Yeezys.
As a result of this promise, people were confused when Adidas recently began to sell Yeezy’s at a large-scale rate. This was due to its leftover inventory valuing over a billion dollars. While Adidas continues to sell the brand, it justifies it by having 50% of sales go to organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.
In the present, the brand still isn’t sure what’s going to happen and if it will continue to create without West, despite having done as much as they could to disassociate themselves with his name and even having deeply apologized for West’s actions.
