Yeezys are dead. Yeezys are not dead. Yeezys are asleep. They’re bricking. They’re back up!
It’s quite the ride with the Adidas Yeezy line. One day they’re most coveted in the game, the other they’re not even worth their retail price. But that changed this year, and 2019 became the year Yeezys came back from the dead. Thanks to the now-iconic, Yeezy reflective.
Before & After The Yeezy Reflective
When we say before the Yeezy reflective we don’t really mean way before. Not like 3 or 4 years ago. Back then in 2015, 2016, and 17 Yeezys were it. They were the talk of the town, the most coveted and profitable in the game. But there was a year, 2018, a very bad Yeezy year in the history of the sneaker industry when Yeezys just died.
But then, back in December Kanye seemed to have cracked to code.
Features, Colorways & More!
There isn’t really a Yeezy Reflective-exclusive feature. Those shiny new Yeezys didn’t offer much that we hadn’t seen in 350 V2s before.
They kept the original Yeezy 350 V2 silhouette, plus the mesh translucent stripe, minus the SPLY-350 text on the lateral sides. But that’s nothing new. We have seen this mesh in non-reflective Yeezys and the SPLY-350 was already gone by the time the first Yeezy Reflective dropped. Remember the Yeezy Cream whites, Sesame, and , none of these colorways featured the SPLY branding text, and we’re still alive.
So, on the level of looks, the new Yeezy Reflectives didn’t offer anything more than shimmer and shine. But in terms of hype, we can say with much confidence that the Reflectives were the saviors of the whole line. The whole Adidas Yeezy partnership even!
So far, we’ve seen 5 colorways of the reflective Yeezys. Static, Black, Synth, Antlia, and Lundmark all retailed for the usual $220. Sparkles and shine came at no extra cost. How generous!
Yeezy 350 Reflective Stock Level
If we had to sum up the elements contributing to the hype of a pair of sneakers, we would say it’s mostly about the stock level. You know, the basic supply – Demand rules. And despite ignoring the importance of exclusivity for over a year, and dropping as many pairs as they could, Kanye and Adidas did revert to their old ways. Well, at least partially.
Every Yeezy Reflective colorway was very exclusive and limited. Word around the community was that the Yeezy Static Reflective was limited to only 5000 pairs. Such a small number that we haven’t seen since the big debut of the OG Yeezy 350 V1!
And though we didn’t get official numbers for the rest of the reflectives, we know they were as or even more exclusive since most of them were also region-bound.
Resale on The Rise
This exclusivity pushed Yeezy resale prices back into the race. Back to the top where they were a few years ago. And so, you can now see prices as high as $1K for a real pair of Yeezy 350 v2. And after a couple of really successful release, we can say that Yeezys’ hibernation is officially over.
What’s in it for Adidas?
Adidas plan for Yeezys in 2019 was clearly very different from that in 2018.
Last year the motto was “Yeezys for everyone”, which split the whole community vertically. Those who cop to wear, who were, BTW, very happy with the increase in stock. And resellers who were pissed AF cause Yeezys were bricking!
But this year Adidas the exclusivity card again. And relied on hype rather than Yeezy sales. And it turned out pretty well.
According to Lyst.com, demand for Adidas sneakers increased by 336% compared to 2018. And that cannot be coincidental. The report documented numbers from Q1 and Q2 of 2019, which was the period when we had most of the Yeezy Reflective releases. And among these reflectives, the Black Yeezy 350 V2 was and still is the most valuable, currently reselling for over $1,800!
And by the end of 2019, Kanye West’s partnership with Adidas should generate $1.3 billion in sales. So that number should answer the question.
What is Kanye Up to?
Besides his epic interview with Forbes, and the “I don’t know what to say about it” Yeezy Day, Ye has a lot up his sleeve for the upcoming season. Starting with the Yeezy 500 Bone White dropping tomorrow, to the Yeezy 350 V2 Citrin, Cloud White, and the dad shoes, Yeezy Boost 700 Hospital Blue . All of which you can and should buy using the best Yeezy Bot in the game, AIO Bot. Click below to learn more about the bot and how you can make thousands of dollars using it.
