It has been a turbulent few months for Kanye West. The rapper has been outcast by the business community in the United States of America. Not only business, but Hollywood as well has called out the erratic behavior that Kanye has displayed in the past few weeks. It all began with the Paris Fashion Week where he introduced a new line of Yeezy clothing that had ‘White Lives Matter’ printed on it. This was the defining moment of his downfall.
Many celebrities called him out for his controversial fashion statement including his colleague Sean “Diddy” Combs. But, during a chat with him, Kanye made some anti-Semitic comments and then went on to defend his words. Not immediately, but the companies and projects that Kanye West was associated with, started to pull the plugs, but the biggest blow came when Adidas terminated the contract with him. Now that the contract is terminated, will Adidas still sell the Yeezys which became a savior for the company?
Also Read: Kanye West Dared Adidas To Drop Him Over Anti-Semitic Comments On Stage And They Did Just That
Adidas And Kanye West’s Yeezys History
It was the year 2013 when Adidas was knee-deep into a loss. The shoe giant did not have any spectacular products in the market. While its competitor Nike was doling out shoes that were amongst the best-produced sneakers. But, Adidas signed a contract with Kanye West and started the collaborative journey of Adidas Yeezys. However, their first collaboration came out in 2015 with Yeezy 750. In 2016, sales went up by 18% for Adidas. In the same year, in a historic deal, the two signed a ten years contract till 2026.
Things started deteriorating for the two because of West’s erratic behavior of calling slavery “a choice”, and many other things. But, things got serious in 2022 when Adidas put Ye’s contract “under review” after the Paris Fashion Week debacle. The last nail in the coffin was on October 25th, 2022, when all the companies started pulling out the plugs, Adidas also terminated the contract three years before it was due.
Though the company predicted that it will face a loss of $256 million, it could not tolerate his hate-mongering behavior toward Jews. So, as the company has canceled the deal, what is the future of Adidas Yeezy? The company will retain all the patterns, colors, and silhouettes.
In a Q3 closing call, CFO Harm Ohlmeyer said, “Going forward, we will leverage the existing inventory with the exact plans being developed as we speak. It should refrain from relaunching items under its own brand, as they will always be synonymous with West, and this would likely result in muted customer demand.”
Also Read: What Happened To The ‘White Lives Matter’ Shirts Introduced By Kanye West?
The Company With Go Ahead Producing The Adidas Yeezys
Adidas is not stopping the circulation or the production of the new shoes. The shoe mogul is planning to launch new Yeezy trainers in 2023. It has assured its shareholders that the company is “the sole owner of the core designs of the current Yeezys in circulation”. Adidas hinted at their future plans stating “Yeezy designs will, in fact, live on at Adidas after all, but they’ll have a completely different title when they drop”.
Previously, Adidas CEO told that the company is the “sole owner” and will go forward with the plans that they have in the new year.
He said, “Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights registered to existing products. We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023. We own all the versions and new colorways. It’s our IP. We are working through all the options. When the time is right we will be more specific.”
Also Read: “One Of The Most Freeing Days”: Kanye West Reacts To Getting Sacked By Balenciaga
