Kanye West is as famous for his Yeezy shoe brand as he is for his award-winning music. He has thrown himself into the production of his high-end Yeezy brand and has profited significantly from this business venture. Complex reports that during the development of his brand he ran into a major snag with Nike shoes, and the two parted ways, but not after a bitter dispute. So bitter, in fact, that Kanye went on to release a Nike diss song, and dragged the brand publicly at every opportunity. Given this history, fans were stunned when a recent photo emerged with Kanye West wearing... Nike shoes.
It was just another day in Los Angeles, until Kanye West appeared in a puffy jacket and full face mask, in spite of the Californian heat. As fans gave him the once-over to decipher why he was so overly bundled on a hot, sunny day, people couldn't help but notice what Kanye was wearing on his feet.
For the first time in a long time, he wasn't wearing his own shoe brand. Quite shockingly, he was wearing shoes from his biggest competitor and declared enemy... Nike.
Not long ago, Kanye was in talks with Nike to collaborate on sneaker designs, but the two ended up in a full-out, dramatic dispute over royalties, which didn't end well. Kanye wanted to be paid royalties for shoes that resulted from his input and influence, but the two couldn't agree on the numbers. Kanye was seeking a 5% commission structure, which is similar to the arrangement given to Michael Jordan, but Nike refused, citing that he was not a professional athlete, and therefore didn't qualify for the same royalty value.
Of course, Kanye took his dispute to social media, and went on to release a diss track, trolling the Nike brand.
In true Kanye fashion, he wasn't wearing ordinary Nike shoes. His kicks are both rare, and expensive, and one could only assume he sought out the exclusive pair specifically. It seems that in spite of his rage against the Nike brand and the organization, his boycott doesn't restrict him from sporting their sneakers.
Complex reports his shoes as being; "semiobscure Nike Vandal High that dropped in 2015 as a NikeLab release. The black-and-silver canvas sneakers are inspired by a one-off pair from the 1984 film The Terminator. That version never released, but a slightly modified iteration of the Vandal dropped in June 2015 alongside another batch of promo pairs created for the release of Terminator Genisys."
Fans are wondering if wearing these Nikes means that Kanye has put his feud aside, but that remains to be seen.
Sources: Complex, Illinois News Today