Everything
Kanye West sparking controversy… it seems to be a common thread in 2022 for the rap megastar who isn’t afraid to speak his mind on his social media platforms and share his feelings with the world.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Kanye ‘Ye’ West accused Adidas’s CEO Kasper Rorsted of stealing his designs. In particular, the design of the new Adilette Slide, which West claims to be a direct copy of his wildly popular Yeezy Slide.
And we hate to admit it but the new Adidas slide does look remarkably similar to the Yeezy slide.
“To Kasper, I’m not standing for this blatant copying no more. To all sneaker culture. To every ball player rapper, or even if you work at the store; this is for everyone who wants to express themselves but feel they can’t cause they’ll lose their contract or be called crazy,” West wrote via Instagram.
“These shoes represent the disrespect that people in power have to the talent. This shoe is a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves.”
The Adilette 22, which will join Adidas’ iconic Adilette collection – the staple locker-room slide that almost everyone would have owned at one point or another – integrates a design-driven geometric texture that gives it a unique wavy look that differs completely to the Yeezy Slide. Where the similarity comes into play is the overall shape, with its thick midsole and sculpted one-piece design, and the colourways that are being released; pastel and muted tonal hues.
Many pundits and fans are questioning whether this design similarity can fracture the business relationship between West and Adidas, and if so, what it means for the future of Yeezy?
Only time will tell, but we’ll probably know soon enough as the Adilette 22 is set to debut on June 23 for a retail price of $55).
