Adidas reviews the Kanye West Yeezy partnership
Days after Kanye West unveiled a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt design at Paris Fashion Week, Adidas says it is evaluating its Yeezy collaboration with him.
Instead of addressing the controversy, the corporation stated that “successful collaborations are rooted in mutual respect and shared principles.”
On Instagram, the rapper and fashion designer replied, accusing the company of “stealing” his creations.
It looks like that post has since been removed.
Adidas said that after “several attempts to quietly settle the situation,” the partnership was being examined.
A spokesman for the German sportswear company stated that the “Adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history.”
In addition to using a nasty expletive in his Instagram post, Mr West added, “I AM ADIDAS.”
This week, he faced backlash for adding T-shirts with the slogan “White Lives Matter” to his Paris Fashion Week presentation.
The expression “Black Lives Matter,” which opposes racism and police brutality, gained popularity when George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was slain by a police officer in Minneapolis in the summer of 2020.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, the global fashion editor-at-large for Vogue, was one critic of West’s T-shirts, calling the move “highly risky.”
In retaliation, Mr West assaulted Ms Karefa-Johnson and humiliated her appearance in front of his 17.9 million followers by posting pictures of her online.
Vogue stated that it “stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson” a statement.
Adidas and West’s ten-year partnership has been in disarray for some time.
The focus of their cooperation is the expensive Yeezy sneakers, which routinely sell out minutes after going on sale.
Adidas stated that it will continue to co-manage the collaboration while the review is ongoing.
Kanye West’s legal team informed Gap in writing that he would no longer be working with the brand less than a month prior to Adidas’ announcement. He asserted that Gap violated the terms of the contract by declining to open independent outlets for his apparel line, Yeezy.
