Kanye West's Yeezy Partnership With adidas Is Officially Over
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After months and months of rumors, Kanye West's Yeezy partnership with adidas has officially been terminated. Last month, the artist, fashion designer, and wannabe-president spoke to Bloomberg's Kim Bhasin saying, "Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience." Now, after a string of antisemitic comments and hate speech, the German brand has officially put an end to the adidas x Yeezy partnership.
"adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech." states an official press release from the Three Stripes. "Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness. 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. adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership."
The relationship between West and adidas has been on thin ice since the summer. Back in June, the Georgia-born creative accused the sportswear giant of "blatantly copying" his Foam Runner and Slide silhouettes and re-releasing original colorways allegedly without this permission. According to early reports, this partnership was originally meant to end in 2026, but just like his collaborations with Balenciaga and Gap, the plug has been prematurely pulled.
The statement from adidas continues, "This is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter. adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership."
More information on the termination of Kanye West's Yeezy partnership will be provided as part of adidas' upcoming Q3 earnings announcement which is currently scheduled for November 9th, 2022. This is a story that is moving fast with new details being revealed everyday, so make sure you follow us on Twitter and download Sole Retriever'sMobile App to find out absolutely everything that you need to know.
Adam Cheung is a writer and editor who specialises in sneakers and streetwear. Over the past few years, he's curated features and guides for everyone from Burberry to Nike. Often travelling between the UK and Hong Kong, don't be too surprised if you find Adam anywhere else around the world taking street photography or feasting on the local delicacies.
