Entertainment
Adidas to sell Yeezy designs under new name after Kanye West split
Adidas says it plans to continue releasing shoes designed in collaboration with Kanye West without the Yeezy brand, despite ending its partnership with the rapper last month.
The German sportswear brand says it is the “sole owner” of certain design rights, and intended to make use of them next year.
Adidas said it was ending production of its Yeezy branded products with “immediate effect” in October, following the rapper’s antisemitic comments.
The German sportswear company previously said it “does not tolerate antisemitism” and called Ye’s recent comments “dangerous and hateful”.
However, on a call to discuss quarterly earnings, Adidas’ chief financial officer Harm Ohlmeyer said plans to “leverage the existing inventory” were currently being developed, according to US media.
“Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights registered to existing products,” he said.
“We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023.”
Yeezy trainers have been a big hit for the company and are sought after on the used market, routinely selling for hundreds of pounds.
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Explained: Kanye West’s antisemitism controversy
The firm was criticised for not acting sooner over Wests’s antisemitic remarks on social media
He previously said he was going to go to “death con 3” on Jewish people and recently suggested slavery in the US was a choice.
The decision to terminate the Adidas partnership cost the rapper his spot on the Forbes billionaires list.
The contract accounted for around 1.5 billion dollars (£1.3 billion), according to the US business magazine.
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At the time Adidas said it expected the decision to have a “short-term negative impact of up to 250 million euro on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter”.
The rapper’s offensive social media posts and comments have cost him a slew of business relationships and deals including with US fashion chain Gap and fashion brand Balenciaga.