Yeezy Day arrived, and you could time your day with the barrage of Twitter and social complaints about the CONFIRMED app and Yeezy Supply being botted. As sneaker culture becomes a monotonous routine of launch, complain, repeat, it’s always wise to look in the nooks and crannies to find flavors outside of the fast-food nature of sneaker culture’s idea of fresh. There is a chance to develop a collection which hearkens to those Bobbito led, “Where’d you get those?” questions. I’m taking a minute to give you a few options that are eye-catching and right on trend with something new Kanye would rock with his oversized puffer coats and ski masks.
Onitsuka Petal
A sneaker that problems bring to mind the Air Force 1 SP more than it does a pair of Yeezy, that Nike version gave off the industrial vibe of Yeezy as well with its bungee attachments and multiple straps. This updated court shoe isn’t revolutionary, but don’t those additional straps feel like they’d be right at home hanging off of Ye’s latest Balenciaga attire?
Brandblack Kaiju
When Ye first left Nike for adidas, it was his appearance in the UltraBoost that brought hypebeasts to the Three Stripes en masse. With an obvious reference to Yeezy’s most popular sneaker with adidas, this Zebra themed performance running shoe from the L.A. based Brandblack, has a name alluding to the giant monsters that rip apart Tokyo from time to time. You have to admit, this may be a more adventurous model than even Kanye has developed.
Clearweather Contera
Imagine, Ye didn’t approve of Yeezy Day. What if he decided to acquire a startup like Clearweather. One picture of Ye in the Contera Black and the world shifts on the sneaker axis tilting in a manner that completely disrupts all of sneaker retail and resale. The Contera looks like Nas’ Thief’s Theme. I know it’s odd to use a Nas song on a thread for Ye, but Kanye doesn’t have something in his song catalog as grimey as this sneaker probably makes the wearer feel. This shoe looks like a midday bank robbery in slo-mo.
HOKA Kaha GTX Trekking
The people who took Ls on Yeezy Day aren’t really looking to dress like Ye. If they were then more boots would be rocked on a daily basis right? Those boots wouldn’t be this color either. Ye hasn’t really rocked more muted brown neutrals. He’s been on a ‘shades of black’ vibe with gigantic dookie stompers, lol. Seriously though, I’m still looking at options where the aesthetic is oversized and with the HOKA Kaha every outdoor brand has reason to worry about their streetwear phases being shortened. The Kaha is a beautiful, bulky hiking sneaker simply waiting on your option of oversized hoodie in off-neutral colors.
adidas Y-3 Slide
This one is a bit of trolling on my end. Kanye’s frustration with adidas and his public callouts of the brand leave potential moves on the table where adidas could begin to amplify designers who have remained on fringe. Will it have the reach that Ye’s designs have? I’m not sure if Y-3 has ever been given real energy in the U.S. and I don’t think adidas has ever made a genuine effort to grow the market around Y-3. Interestingly enough the same issues Kanye has with the Three Stripes Y-3 could make similar claims when you look at the Tubular series, but I’ve never witnessed a collaborator be as bold in confronting their brand partner. The Y-3 Slide is a natural to be the last item on this list.
