Kanye West’s Nike Air Yeezy 1 sneakers sell for record breaking $2.3 million

His Yeezy footwear line with Adidas has just released new shoes, which has had a mixed response on social media as a brand battle looms with Walmart.

Kanye West’s sneakers fetched record $2.3 million when they went up for sale. Picture: Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company

A pair of Nikes worn by Kanye West during his performances of Hey Mama and Stronger at the Grammy Awards in 2008 has shattered the record price for a pair of sneakers.

The Nike Air Yeezy 1 were auctioned by Sotheby’s and fetched $US1.8 million ($A2.3 million) from Rares, a sneaker investment marketplace.

It’s the first publicly recorded pair of sneakers to top $US1 million.

The size 12 shoes features the iconic Yeezy forefoot strap and signature ‘Y’ medallion lacelocks in bright pink.

“We are thrilled with the result, which has nearly tripled the highest price on record,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectables.

“The sale speaks volumes of Kanye’s legacy as one of the most influential clothing and sneaker designers of our time, and of the Yeezy franchise he has built which has become an industry titan.”

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Kanye West wears the sneakers on stage at the Grammys in 2008. The sneaker range were the first to be launched by West's Yeezy brand, and caused a fashion furore when he wore them. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America/AFP

Kanye West’s Yeezy footwear line with Adidas just launched new slide sandals for infants, kids and adults.

Making its return in three colour options titled “core”, “resin” and “pure”, the Yeezy Slide was unveiled on the Adidas website on Monday.

The shoes, which currently retail for $US35 ($A45) for infants, $US45 ($A55) for kids and $US60 ($A70) for adults, were already sold out by the afternoon.

Kanye has not promoted the line on his personal social media accounts. However, the brand’s official Yeezy Mafia Twitter account informed its customers and followers that the Yeezy Slide will be restocked at some point in June.

S L I D E Sâ €
â €
W OR L ? 💬⠀
â €
ICYMI: SLIDES RESTOCKING IN JUNE ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/9Tl0Tl8LGi

— YEEZY MAFIA (@theyeezymafia) April 26, 2021

Under Yeezy Mafia’s post, ecstatic Twitter users shared photos and videos of the successful purchases they made online and in person. Meanwhile, other users expressed their disappointment in having to wait longer.

Not everyone is a fan of the slides, though. And some users who dislike the style have even questioned how the shoes sell out time and time again.

“I think the nursing home bought the entire lot,” one Twitter user joked. “They ran out of those ugly, but comfortable croc looking things #yeezyslide.”

“I remember y’all saying Yeezy Slides were ugly, [but] now they sold out,” another user wrote with a raised eyebrow and monocle emoji.

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Kanye has not promoted the Yeezy lines on his personal social media accounts, which got mixed responses online. Picture: Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP

“It’s a limited release,” reasoned another user. “Kanye West could strap ‘Yeezy’ on dental floss and y’all would buy it up.”

While fans didn’t go out of their way to defend the shoes online, plenty shared their admiration for the brand and their desire to get more pairs for themselves and family members. Similar posts about the brand came up when Yeezy released its lineup of slides in the summer of 2020 and winter of 2019.

Kanye’s Yeezy line got its start with Adidas in 2015 with sneakers that typically cost a few hundred dollars per pair. Over the years, the Donda rapper has vowed to make the brand more affordable, as noted in Teen Vogue in 2016.

In July 2020, Kanye inked a 10-year contract with Gap to create a reasonably-priced apparel line – a business move that other rappers have done with different brands, including Cardi B with Reebok and Travis Scott with Nike’s Jordan Brand.

Walmart claims that Yeezy’s mark will create “confusion” and a “false suggestion of a connection” between Walmart (right) and Yeezy (left). Picture: tsdr.uspto.gov

Meanwhile, Walmart says Kanye West’s new logo — described in patent paperwork as “rays from a sun” — looks too similar to its 13-year-old sun logo and should be blocked as a result.

The US-based retailer last week filed an objection with the US Patent and Trademark Office over a design the entertainer filed for West’s Yeezy LLC in January 2020.

The design, which West’s company said may be used in conjunction with sneakers, underwear, T-shirts, furniture, modular homes and even hotel services, consists of eight lines made up of three dots each that emerge from a circle to form “rays”, according to legal papers.

The problem, Walmart says, is that it looks like the retailer’s 13 year-old mark, except that Walmart’s sun rays are made up of lines instead of dots.

Walmart claims that Yeezy’s mark will create “confusion” and a “false suggestion of a connection” between Walmart and Yeezy, according to the opposition filed on April 21.

This story originally appeared on Fox News and the New York Post and is reproduced here with permission