Kanye West has announced that the triple white colorway for the Adidas Yeezy 350 V2 will be a general release with enough production to put a pair on the feet of every yeezy Stan in the USA. In a tweet on Monday August 20th, Kanye announced the “largest drop ever” of the Yeezy 350. Given the relatively high production numbers of recent releases such as the Cream, Blue Tint and Butter, we can only imagine just how common these kicks will be.
Since I’ve been making sneakers I’ve always wanted as many people as possible to have them. On September 21 we’re doing our largest drop ever of the 350 V2 Triple White. Go to https://t.co/kvdmsKZpu7 and sign up to get them
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 20, 2018
While Kanye sited the limited availability of his kicks as a driving factor in his move from Nike to Adidas, turns out it might have been more about money. It’s worth noting that West’s tweet linked directly to his own site Yeezy Supply to pre-register for a pair. By acting as his own distributer, this gives Ye a much bigger cut from each sale. This is probably a good move for Ye, even as fans and resellers push back against a GR Yeezy.
The Decline Of The Yeezy
With Butter colorway going for just above retail, we can assume this will officially kill the resale allure of this all white colorway. Whether this will prove to be a brilliant move to line the pockets of Kanye West and Adidas, or if this will officially mark the end of Yeezy hype and prestige will become evident soon after release. Nothing is more detrimental to a brand’s perceived value then seeing items on the clearance rack. Companies such as Nike and Apple utilize price control to maintain an element of popularity and demand by controlling what can be marked down and by whom. We’ve seen the Yeezy clothing line hit discounts of 80% due to lack of demand, the Adidas collaborations have continued to sell out and remain popular as well as a status symbol for those who wear them.
The move is not a complete surprise however, Kanye first stated in 2014 that he intended to make his kicks available to everybody. It seems the marketing gurus have prevented that from happening up until now. Perhaps the faltering demand for Yeezy releases, mixed with Kanye’s public gaffes surrounding Donald Trump and slavery denial or being dubbed a “flop” by Drake have made this the time to cash in before the Yeezy brand fizzles out.