Kanye West has hit out at Adidas over the sneaker giant's new Adilette 22 slides, calling the shoe ‘a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves’.
In a now-deleted Instagram post published on Monday (13 June), the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, directly addressed Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted while calling the slide’s design ‘blatant copying’.
Drawing comparisons between the Adilette and his Yeezy Slide line, Ye urged Rørsted to ‘come and talk to him’ and said his social media post was for ‘everyone who wants to express themselves but feel they can’t’.
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Ye wrote in full: “This is Ye driving down the same street Kobe passed on. Maybe I feel that Mamba spirit right now.
“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.”
The star continued: “Bravery is not being afraid. Bravery is overcoming your fear for your truth. This Ye with the blue paint on my face.
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“These shoes represent the disrespect that people in power have to the talent. This shoe is a fake Yeezy made by Adidas themselves.”
“Kasper come talk to me. Happy Monday,” Ye concluded.
According to Adidas, the Adilette slides were inspired by ‘3D topography and human expeditions to Mars’ and made with natural and renewable materials.
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UNILAD has approached Adidas for comment.
Ye first teamed up with the sportswear giant back in 2013 and the pair collaboratively established the Adidas Yeezy name. Together, the duo presented a total of eight Yeezy Season collections.
This time last year, Ye sued Walmart for selling what he considered ‘knock-off Yeezy Foam Runners’ after sending a legal warning to take the product off its site, which the supermarket chain didn’t comply with.
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A statement from Walmart released at the time read: “The product referenced in the complaint is not sold by Walmart, but rather by third party marketplace sellers. We take allegations like this seriously and are reviewing the claim.
“We will respond in court as appropriate after we have been served with the complaint.”
Ye’s lawsuit reportedly stated: “Walmart is flagrantly trading off of his and Yeezy brand’s popularity by offering for sale an imitation version of the Yeezy Foam Runner.
“Walmart’s conduct is harming, and will continue to harm, West and Yeezy, leaving them no choice but [to sue] to stop Walmart’s unfair competition and profiting from the popularity of the success of West and Yeezy.”
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Topics: Kanye West, Fashion
Aisha Nozari