Highsnobiety

Ever since adidas confirmed that it was cutting ties with Kanye West over his unrepentant anti-Semitism, the question has plagued sneakerheads: what's gonna happen to the adidas YEEZY sneakers? Finally, adidas clarified things: it's still gonna sell YEEZY shoes, just without Ye's name or company attached.

adidas confirmed its loose concept for the future of its YEEZY sneaker designs during an earnings call on November 9.

The main thrust of the event was to adjust the sportswear giant's expected 2022 revenue as a result of both a $500 million hit from the termination of the YEEZY business and ongoing pains from China, one of adidas' biggest markets. China is still grappling with its "Zero Covid" policy and thus foot traffic to stores has slowed and, in some reason, ended entirely.

But, amidst the financial updates, adidas also revealed some key tidbits about the future of YEEZY. Or, rather, the YEEZY shoes that adidas produced.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

adidas claimed to have "interesting plans" for the YEEZY designs, clarifying that it owns the intellectual property and rights for certain YEEZY creations, including some that have yet to be released.

Social media rumblings suggest that because the unreleased YEEZY shoes were envisioned by people like adidas' well-regarded VP of global design, Nic Galway, the Three Stripes retains the rights. Note that this scuttlebutt is completely unconfirmed, though.

However, plenty of YEEZY goods are “our product,” Harm Ohlmeyer, adidas' CFO, said when announcing the earnings update. “We own all the IP, we own all the designs, we own all the versions and new colorways, so it's our IP, it's our product."

"Interesting things" will be "coming to fruition "in 2023."

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

Just a day prior to the call, adidas announced a shift in management, with CEO Kasper Rørsted to be replaced with former PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden on January 1, 2023, marking another interesting thing for the new year.

adidas finally cut ties with Ye and YEEZY on October 25 following weeks of protracted tension over contract disputes and social media tirades, including allegations that adidas was swiping YEEZY concepts for in-house designs.

Following Ye's explosive YZY SZN 9 fashion show and subsequent anti-Semitism, including a promise to go "Death Con 3" on "the Jewish people," adidas made its split from Ye official.

Previous business partners like GAP and Balenciaga beat adidas to the punch, both dropping Ye as a business partner by mid-October. However, GAP only removed YEEZY products from stores after adidas ended its relationship with YEEZY.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Twitter post.

On October 16, Ye boasted on a podcast that he was so valuable to adidas that the German sportswear company could never considering cutting ties with YEEZY, no matter what he said.

Nine days later, adidas did just that.

We Recommend
  • adidas Is Dropping YEEZY FOAM RNRs This Week
    • Sneakers
  • adidas YEEZY's March 2024 Drops: Everything to Know
    • Sneakers
  • More YEEZYs Are Coming in 2024, adidas Confirms
    • Sneakers
  • Finally, adidas Is Selling Off Its Remaining YEEZY Sneakers
    • Sneakers
  • Everything to Know: adidas' Final YEEZY Sale in 2023
    • Sneakers
What To Read Next
  • HOKA's Chunky Hiker Is Seriously Smoking
    • Sneakers
  • Veja's New Running Shoe Is a Surprisingly Slick Crossover Sneaker
    • Sneakers
  • The Trader Joes Tote Bag Is No Stanley Cup
    • Style
  • Ghettotech, Bootytech, Sextech, meet the Detroit trio HiTech
    • Culture
  • Kendall Jenner in Business Bottega Is Best-Dressed Material
    • Style
  • 2024, the Year of the Beautiful Celeb Couple
    • Culture
*If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you regularly about similar products without prior explicit consent. You can object to the use of your e-mail address for this purpose at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. Alternatively, you can object to receiving the newsletter at any time by sending an e-mail to info@highsnobiety.com

Web Accessibility Statement

Titel Media GmbH (Highsnobiety), is committed to facilitating and improving the accessibility and usability of its Website, www.highsnobiety.com. Titel Media GmbH strives to ensure that its Website services and content are accessible to persons with disabilities including users of screen reader technology. To accomplish this, Titel Media GmbH tests, remediates and maintains the Website in-line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which also bring the Website into conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Disclaimer

Please be aware that our efforts to maintain accessibility and usability are ongoing. While we strive to make the Website as accessible as possible some issues can be encountered by different assistive technology as the range of assistive technology is wide and varied.

Contact Us

If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of any particular webpage on this Website, please contact us at accessibility@highsnobiety.com, +49 (0)30 235 908 500. If you do encounter an accessibility issue, please be sure to specify the web page and nature of the issue in your email and/or phone call, and we will make all reasonable efforts to make that page or the information contained therein accessible for you.