So a lot has been happening lately. I mean we’re barely getting enough time to wrap our heads around this sh*tload of news. Thankfully enough, we’ve got reliable sneaker news sites to keep us on track and up-to-date with everything kicks-related. And more importantly, they’ve been managing to keep us posted on news on the Adidas Yeezy sale. So, why don’t we do some kinda recap to see how things came up to the point where Adidas Yeezys are on their second release this month, post-breakup?
Events Leading Up to the Adidas Yeezy Sale 2023
Season 1: The Collapse
If we want to be precise, we’d say that Ye’s hostility towards Adidas began the second Adidas dropped the Adilette slides. And, Ye being Ye, didn’t shy away from blatantly expressing his thoughts on the then-sold-out beachy shoes.
So, West took it to social media, as he said:
I’m not standing for this blatant copying no more. He then added: This shoe is a fake YEEZY made by adidas themselves.
But life went on after that, you know. And Ye seemed to have cooled down. Well, right until he went all out in a random DM on Instagram on Yeezy Day in 2022, saying:
adidas made up the Yeezy day idea without my approval then went and brought back older styles without my approval picked colors and named them without my approval went and hired people that worked for me without my approval stole my colorways without my approval stole my styles and material approaches without my approval…
Speak of taking consent… This said, did it stop here? It most definitely did NOT. It took much more for hell to break loose. So, Adidas triggered Kanye again with the drop of Stella McCartney’s Clogs. Which pretty much looked like the Foam Runner’s fraternal twins.
Here, Yeezy fans were the ones to express their anger towards Adidas because Ye made no moves to vent it out on social media this time. However, many started questioning the possibility of Ye leaving Adidas. Well, it did happen eventually, but definitely not the way we all expected! So, let’s see how the Adidas Yeezy sale came to an end.
Season 2: The Breakup(s)
So, in September 2022, Ye terminated his deal with GAP, stating that GAP failed to meet commitments in the contract, which included creating exclusive YZY GAP stores. But GAP had the freedom to sell the remaining Yeezy products, and they did.
But then October came and with it came a string of events that finally led to Ye’s downfall. It started with models walking the runway wearing “White Lives Matter” shirts at the YZY show at Paris Fashion Week. Which left Adidas fuming as they put their partnership with the rapper under review.
On October 8, 2023, Ye tweeted an antisemitic remark. Right there and then the hashtag #boycottadidas started trending on Twitter. On October 10, Twitter and Instagram restricted Ye’s accounts. Up till here, Ye thought he was invincible and that he can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what? Now what?
But guess what? Adidas actually dropped him and terminated their relationship on October 25, stating that:
After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.
So, a possible Adidas Yeezy sale was no more, then! And so Balenciaga, MRC Entertainment, Vogue, CAA, GAP, and even FootLcoker all followed suit and put an end to their relationship with Kanye West. More on the termination here!
Season 3: The Chaos
With the Adidas Yeezy sale becoming a thing of the past, sneaker resellers were torn between selling and holding on to their Yeezys. The Yeezy resell value itself was going sky-high back due to the rising demand for them.
Two months after that breakup, Adidas started producing Yeezy-less Yeezys. Shortly after the chaos, Kanye West went MIA. No one seemed to find him. Turns out he was preoccupied with getting married! Yes, Ye walked out of the Yeezy cemetery married for the second time, but Billionaire-status-less. Kanye’s net worth took one good hit following this DRAMARAMA.
Finale: The Beginning of the End
The beginning of the end of the Adidas Yeezy sale has come. Following all that chaos, things seemed to have settled down a little. As in, there were no more terminations and marriage surprises anymore. However, Adidas was struggling behind closed doors. $1.3 Billion worth of Yeezy stock was sitting in their warehouses with no idea what to do with them.
Adidas had 2 choices, no in-between. Either take Ye back, at least for the time being of selling the remaining Yeezy stock, or burn the whole stock to the ground. However, before Adidas shared their decision with the public, Kanye was hosting a secret Yeezy show.
And meanwhile Adidas contemplated either choice, rumors had already hit the industry. And what proved that the Three Stripes was leaning more towards taking Ye back in is Yeezy Mafia’s reappearance on Twitter.
Now, thankfully enough, they avoided self-destruction and went with the wise decision: Adidas were set to sell Yeezys again. And selling Yeezys they did. The first roundup started at the end of May. Was the wait worth it? Well, not for some! Because some sneakerheads received moldy Yeezys! And this is definitely not the kind of reuniting, YZY fans had in mind! After that, Adidas announced another Yeezy lineup starting in August 2023, which is still ongoing.
Adidas Yeezy Sale: What Now?
So, Adidas have earned $437 Million from the first Yeezy sale alone. $120 Million went for donations, just as Adidas has promised. And Ye received his promised 15% royalty on every Yeezy product sold, which amounted to $85 Million.
This being said, when will be the last Adidas Yeezy sale? Does Footlocker still have the chance to join in the game and add Yeezys on their shelves? Or was it all rumors and empty promises? Well, up till now, the only thing we’re sure of when it comes to the Adidas x Yeezy relationship, or lack thereof, is that Adidas won’t be selling YZYs after the stock runs out. A Nike x Yeezy repeat indeed!