Source: Jonathan Leibson / Getty
Months after adidas cut ties with Kanye West over his antisemitic rants and got stuck with a billion dollars worth of Yeezy merchandise, we’re learning that not only were they warned about Kanye West’s antics but got that warning from a rival sports brand.
According to Business Insider, when Kanye West left Nike for adidas back in 2013, Nike actually sent adidas a message warning them that the eclectic music artist was “difficult” to work with as they learned firsthand when they collaborated with him on two classic Air Yeezy silhouettes. Unfortunately for sneakerheads, things went sour between Nike and Kanye when they refused to cut Kanye a slice of the pie from the sales of the sneakers as he wasn’t a “professional” designer.
Once adidas offered him what Nike couldn’t, Kanye took his talents to the three-stripped brand and the rest is history… for better and worse.
From Bloomberg:
Adidas staff ignored warnings from Nike execs that Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was difficult to work with, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Before Adidas partnered with him on its Yeezy range, Ye had already worked with Nike to develop the Air Yeezy range, with the first sneakers hitting shelves in 2009. But their partnership came to an end just four years later when Ye said that Nike had refused to pay him royalties on Yeezy sales because he wasn’t a professional athlete. Nike released its final collaboration sneaker with the rapper in February 2014, and the $245 shoes reportedly sold out in just 11 minutes.
Eleven minutes is an eternity in 2023 sneaker availability. Keep in mind this is before sneakerbots and notifications. Those Yeezy’s wouldn’t last seconds in today’s game.
While we’re not sure if adidas actually regrets working with Kanye as his Yeezy line took the brand to Olympian heights they hadn’t seen since Run DMC put shell toe’s on the map in the ’80s, we know they won’t be seeing that kind of run anytime soon (no shots).
As for any hope from sneakerheads that Kanye would find his way back to Nike and retro the Air Yeezy line sometime in the future, we think this pretty much kills any possibility of that happening anytime soon…or ever. Well, Kanye’s antisemitic rants pretty much killed any chance of a Nike reunion, but this report basically solidifies that.
What do y’all think of adidas ignoring Nike’s warning? Let us know in the comments section below.
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