Adidas Is Re-Evaluating Its YEEZY Partnership With Kanye West

After his public fallout with Gap, Kanye West could be at risk of losing his collaboration with Adidas, which announced it will be placing the lucrative partnership under review. 

It’s still unclear if this spells the end of the duo’s popular releases, though the sportswear giant did reveal it had attempted several times to resolve disputes with the rapper privately, which have proven to be unsuccessful.

Although Adidas has deemed the YEEZY effort one of its “most successful collaborations,” it adds, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal: “After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review.”

For those not in the loop, most of the drama began back in June, when West took to Instagram to publicly chastise Adidas for “ripping off” his YEEZY Slides designs. Then in September, the media mogul alleged the German company had offered him a US$1 billion buyout. 

Later that month, the designer said he was planning to strike it out on his own once the contracts with Gap and Adidas expired, alluding it was time for him “to go [at] it alone.” It’s not difficult to see why Adidas may be hesitant about continuing the partnership going forward.

Adidas stated that during this period of review, the company will continue to co-manage the current inventory of product for the time being; seemingly confirming that YEEZY x Adidas merchandise will still be sold in stores. 

According to Complex, West responded to the news in a now-deleted, expletives-filled, Instagram post saying the sportswear giant “r*ped and stole my designs.”

It remains to be seen if the duo will ever find peace.

[via The Wall Street Journal and Complex, cover image via Laurence Agron | Dreamstime.com and Kenishirotie | Dreamstime.com]