When Nike refused, he began searching for the partnership he wanted and eventually found it in Nike’s biggest rival, adidas.įebruwas a big day for Kanye West, as it was the day of release for his first adidas sneaker and the premiere of his Yeezy Season clothing line. After creating two massively successful sneakers for the brand, West wanted the opportunity to create more and receive royalties on each item sold, similar to Michael Jordan’s deal with Nike.

West would spend the bulk of his 2013 press tour for his album Yeezus airing his grievances with Nike. and producing a capsule collection of apparel(. In 2013, West would once again collaborate with a French fashion house, this time choosing A.P.C. In 2012, The Nike Air Yeezy 2 released and, just like the first version, sold out immediately. The collection did not make it to stores (outside of a high-heeled shoe made in collaboration with Guissepe Zanotti. In October 2011, West debuted an eponymous womenswear collection that was slammed by critics. In a 2013 interview, West said that while he and Abloh didn’t get to actually create any clothing during the internship, they pitched several ideas that were shot down, including the “leather jogging pant concept,” which years later became a popular item produced by many fashion brands. 2009 was also the year that he and his creative collaborator Virgil Abloh interned at Fendi. The collaboration included three sneakers, named after West’s close personal friends. In July 2009, after years of claiming to be the “ Louis Vuitton Don”, West landed a collaboration with the French fashion house. Selling out instantly across the United States, the collaboration with Nike marked the beginning of a string of highly sought-after sneakers designed by Kanye West. Taking inspiration from the Air Jordan and Nike sneakers he coveted in his youth, West became the first recording artist to completely design a new silhouette for Nike. In April of 2009, Nike and Kanye West released the Nike Air Yeezy 1, the first shoe of West’s own design. The next year, however, was a much more successful year for West’s sartorial ventures. Pastelle clothing produced during the brand’s limited lifespan are considered grails by West fans and fashion historians alike. Thanks to a confluence of factors-some publicly know, others kept secret to this day-the business shuttered within a year. In 2008, West debuted his first clothing label, Pastelle, by wearing the samples in public and at awards shows. The first Kanye West collaboration of note came in 2007, when BAPE released the “Dropout Bear” colorway of its massively popular Bapesta sneaker. Soon enough, West had enough influence in streetwear that brands began to reach out to him for collaborations. With his own graphical language-centered around the now-iconic “Dropout Bear”-West’s fusion of streetwear and prep became an early marker of his trendsetting taste.

As West’s music began to dominate the charts, his look was slowly becoming the look. He came to fame as the pink polo wearing, Louis Vuitton backpack toting suburban kid, associated with Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella records. When his rap career began in the early-’00s, no one would have predicted that Kanye West would have the impact on fashion that he’s had.

Kanye 2020 vision hat