In October 2022, the worst happened in the world of fashion. Kanye West, the designer of the famous brand Yeezy, declared unacceptable antisemitic remarks publicly. Because of this, every contract he had with a brand, including Balenciaga, has been terminated. Even his music labels decided to turn their back on him. But the worst that happened was the termination of his contract with the brand, which permitted him to express himself since 2015, which made him the designer he is today, Adidas.
The sports brand was the last to terminate its contract since Yeezy represented most of its sales. Moreover, Yeezy brought most of the customers these previous years, so losing it was the worst for Adidas. However, they had no choice since everybody agreed to say that his words went too far. But many rumors these last weeks said Yeezy could return with Adidas sooner than expected. More than that, from what many insiders said, Yeezy already signed a new contract with Adidas, which made people crazy.
What The New Yeezy Contract Could Be About
According to the rumor, Yeezy is not signing a new contract with Adidas to design unique shoes or work again with a new team in an office like before. Apparently, the agreement is meant to sell off the remaining batches of Yeezys that are still in stock in the factory.
A few months ago, there was a similar rumor saying Adidas would still sell Yeezys but without the branding of the rapper on it. Because if you didn’t know it, Adidas owns practically all of the rapper’s designs, which means the brand can use the shapes of every one of his shoes to create new products, even without his name. In an interview, Kanye West even said he was ok with Adidas using his designs without his permission, so everybody thought they would continue to sell them without the famous branding of the rapper.
However, this rumor has never been confirmed, and this theory has a problem. All the remaining products in the factory are already made with the word “Yeezy” everywhere, and changing the branding on every shoe would cost a lot to Adidas. Moreover, it would not solve their stock problem because they would lose money again. So their only solution is to sell the shoes with the same branding as before, with the forbidden word “Yeezy.”
So that’s why it was almost announced officially on social media that Adidas would sign one last contract to sell the remaining Yeezys they have in stock before terminating once and for all their agreement with Kanye West. Fashion lovers didn’t seem annoyed by that; most of them thought on social media that it was an excellent way to say “bye” forever to the brand by selling all the remaining products and not losing money. However, this rumor was false since Adidas declared something else this week.
Adidas Doesn’t Know What To Do With Remaining Yeezys
It’s time to tell the truth because Adidas never signed any new contract with Kanye West. And nobody needs an official declaration about that specific topic; we just need to listen to their last words about the company’s situation. The sports company declared they don’t know what to do with the remaining pairs in stock.
Bjorn Gulden, general manager of the group, said that the company is working on a way to get rid of the remaining Yeezys. And contrary to what the people thought, they don’t want to sell them; they want to give or burn them, and that last solution would impact the company’s public image.
Also, the solution of selling Yeezys without the branding of the rapper was abandoned, so this rumor was confirmed but will not happen. However, even though they didn’t sign a new contract with the rapper, there’s still a chance they will sell the remaining Yeezys. But contrary to what the rumor says, there would be no new contract, and part of the sales would be given to charity because making too much profit out of this “dead brand” would again impact Adidas’ public image.
Finally, this situation is the worst Adidas has been in decades because their profits have decreased by 70%. However, this is still ongoing since Bjorn Gulden said 2023 would be a year of transition for the brand before finally being back on track in 2024-2025.
