KANYE LEFT NIKE FOR ADIDAS AND BUILT A $1.7 BILLION SNEAKER LINE FROM SCRATCH

## February 2015. Kanye Picks Adidas. Kanye West left Nike in 2013 because Nike wouldn't give him royalties. He had designed two Air Yeezy releases that both sold out instantly. Adidas offered him royalties on every pair sold, creative control, and the ability to scale production beyond limited releases. The Yeezy Boost 350 debuted at New York Fashion Week in February 2015 in the "Turtle Dove" colorway. It sold out in 15 minutes. The shoe was radically different: a sock-like Primeknit upper, a full-length Boost midsole, and no visible branding except a small heel tab. ## $1.7 Billion in Annual Revenue By 2021, the Yeezy line was generating $1.7 billion in annual revenue for Adidas, representing approximately 8% of the company's total sales. Adidas stock price tripled between 2015 and 2021, driven in part by the cultural relevance the Yeezy partnership brought. ## The Boost Technology Underneath The Yeezy 350 ran on Boost, a cushioning technology developed with BASF chemical company. Boost is made of thermoplastic polyurethane beads fused together. Kanye made it visible. Before 2015, Boost was a running shoe technology. After 2015, Boost was a status symbol. ## The Most Public Divorce in Fashion In October 2022, Adidas terminated the Yeezy partnership after Kanye's antisemitic statements. The company wrote down $250 million in Yeezy inventory and projected a $700 million revenue loss for 2023. Adidas stock fell 30% in the quarter following the termination. ## The Verdict The Yeezy Boost 350 is the most commercially successful sneaker collaboration in history by revenue. It resurrected Adidas from cultural irrelevance and proved that a non-athlete could drive sneaker sales at scale. It also proved that $1.7 billion in annual revenue can vanish in a single news cycle when the brand and the person are inseparable.