Understanding Kanye’s World of Yeezy Shoes

Let’s talk about Yeezy trainers, the ones that hang around in hard-to-reach parts of the internet and sell for prices of between £1,000 and £3,000 on eBay. What’s the deal? Do we really love the Yeezy? Or do we love the hype that surrounds the Yeezy designer, Kanye West.

Would these somewhat nondescript trainers sell out in minutes without the colossal backing of the global icon that is Kanye? Perhaps the hype around Kanye’s in-laws is part of the frenzy that has engulfed Yeezy trainers. They’re the Kardashians, of course, the mob who are pictured constantly sporting the Kanye-Adidas collaborations. You can always count on the Kardashians to sell something trashy for a good price, and people lap it up.

So why are we so transfixed on the Yeezy? They are somewhat different from the traditional trainers you will find in any Adidas store but are they so ground-breaking as to sell out at record speed every time a new collection drops? The global brand that Kanye has built for himself can’t hurt sales and the more publicity his family receives for their pointless escapades, the more people are driven to his brand and subsequent collections.

Millions of people watch his wife’s show, and in almost every episode you can see Kanye dressing Kim or other members of the family in items from his newest collection before it’s even released. West may be a good designer in his own right as the product does stand alone in its category. But who really pays £3,000 for a pair of trainers designed by Kanye West? Do we buy these products because they are better than Adidas products? Or are we buying into a piece of the empire surrounding Kanye, the world we see in magazines and on social media every day?

While the trainers are comfortable, are they really that interesting? They generally only look good with the clothes Kanye and Adidas sell alongside them but maybe that’s the point. Teenagers, celebrities and everybody in between seem to be interested in the Yeezy shoe, whether they buy them or sell them on eBay. Kanye has tapped into a market of consumers who are obsessed with celebrity and technology and will do anything to get their hands on limited-edition tracksuit bottoms or trainers made by the man himself. Adidas don’t have sell-out collections of any other trainer, so something unusual is clearly going on here.

Acquiring something so rare must fill a consumer appetite that can’t be quenched with normal trainers, and that thrill is so addictive that the buyers keep coming back collection after collection. While we’re all very happy for Kanye, Adidas must be cheering and toasting him daily. Not only does he bring them millions in revenue, he also manages to keep their name relevant. Well done, Adidas!

The post Understanding Kanye’s World of Yeezy Shoes appeared first on Felix Magazine.

Understanding Kanye’s World of Yeezy Shoes posted first on http://www.felixmagazine.com/