Kanye's Air Yeezy

The hyperflights were supposedly the lightest basketball shoe at the time with a minimal patent leather upper, an anti-inversion device, and I think an air sole unit. I got a pair on clearance and the best way for me to describe it would be like driving a the worlds lightest car. Without breaks, suspension, or any kind of stability control. That and stiff ankle section really dug into the skin. It did come in a plethora of cool colors though.

it was great to see the inner workings of the collaboration but i think they fell short…

i wish they would have pushed the envelope a bit and got with an original sole…i think the more sleek/futuristic version could have had an enormous impact on the “streetwear” scene and been more much more memorable

anyways, i like the outcome but if i had a say i would have encouraged them to spend a few bucks and push the bar

If ONLY the Hyperflight was on iD. I could literally do a pair a week and be happy.

What do you guys think of the $215 tag price considering they have an exisiting tooling and pretty marginal looking graphic material qualities on the toe rand and strap?

As crazy as $215 sounds…I see these easily topping $400 after the drop…

no doubt, no doubt. People are willing to pay for association, by that I mean that as long as Yeezy says it’s cool, who’s to disagree?

puts his hand up

me for one! i personally think ‘Kanyeezy’ is about as uncool as you can get… basically anyone associated with complex magazine, marc echo et al, pretty much qualify for ‘uncool’ in my book.

to each his own tho!

but the shoes, i dont mind em. i think if anyone new has a go at designing shoes its a good thing, the more the merrier (except ‘the hundreds’ haha. jokes. kind of)

imo no ‘guest’ designer has pushed it as far as Yasuhiro Mihara. loooove that guys stuf

i actually LOVED the hyperflights on court…to be sure it had its flaws (durability& stability!) but they felt great, really light low to the ground, & super responsive as a result. liked them much more than the ultraflights…one of my favorite balling shoes

you think these were ugly?!?!?!

maaan!

i’d definitely have to get a few pairs just to have a some pristine pairs. easy

as for the price tag, as was said, its all about the association. not all that different with than what jordans were or more recently, with sdots & g-units…initially these will likely be well received however i have a feeling after the hype of the release people will be scratching their heads about the $215 tag.

as a designer, i appreciate that they went through the process & were going for more than just a color/material/existing shoe formula. but i do not really think there is anything re3ally remarkable about the shoe, though i do like the shoe.

that’s funny, I’m the polar opposite, I rather liked playing in the ultraflights. Much more than the hyperflights at least lol.

I think that in the back of their heads, most of the designers must have wanted to strangle yeezy at some point haha. I can imagine him being a very difficult person to work with.

There is absolutely nothing of value or even a hint of design in these sneakers. They’re barely a study in manufacturing… barely.

I don’t understand this appeal of childish looking footwear.

These look like a seven year old’s Kmart purchased sneakers from 1981, who drew a backwards nike logo on them with a brown crayon. Velcro because this specific kid is behind the rest of their peers in learning to tie their shoes.

I could literally get scraps of garbage from the dumpster and make better sneakers than this.

What’s with this BS? It’s just like Kanye… trash, but still getting press.

jungle,
maybe i mispoke. its not that the shoe is that “ugly”, but to me it was a ‘shelf shoe’, once they were played in all the creases in the patent make them look really bad to me, and thats what i always saw in the gym, so they just didn’t look good to me. but a new pair on the shelf is not too bad. But either way a little too much patent for my tastes.

Mr Weldon,

Nice comment, and while i DEFINATELY agree w you for the most part, i will say this:

a) to be completely honest, when you say “a seven year olds sneakers from 1981”
& then “with a backwards nike logo they drew on themselves…”
im thinking: …that sounding pretty awesome!

b) when you say: “I could literally get scraps of garbage from the dumpster and make better sneakers than this”, Im thinking: LETS SEE IT! Seriously, get to work buddy, not saying i dont believe you, but i would really like to see these ‘Air-Dumpsters’…

c) “just like Kanye… trash, but still getting press” Co-sign. Not since the invention of cocaine has someone had a bigger ego coupled with lesser talent.

NK.

understood, everyone has their tastes…

TaylorWelden wrote:
There is absolutely nothing of value or even a hint of design in these sneakers. They’re barely a study in manufacturing… barely.

I don’t understand this appeal of childish looking footwear.

These look like a seven year old’s Kmart purchased sneakers from 1981, who drew a backwards nike logo on them with a brown crayon. Velcro because this specific kid is behind the rest of their peers in learning to tie their shoes.

I could literally get scraps of garbage from the dumpster and make better sneakers than this.

What’s with this BS? It’s just like Kanye… trash, but still getting press.


Mr Weldon,

Nice comment, and while i DEFINATELY agree w you for the most part, i will say this:

a) to be completely honest, when you say “a seven year olds sneakers from 1981”
& then “with a backwards nike logo they drew on themselves…”
im thinking: …that sounding pretty awesome!

b) when you say: “I could literally get scraps of garbage from the dumpster and make better sneakers than this”, Im thinking: LETS SEE IT! Seriously, get to work buddy, not saying i dont believe you, but i would really like to see these ‘Air-Dumpsters’…

c) “just like Kanye… trash, but still getting press” Co-sign. Not since the invention of cocaine has someone had a bigger ego coupled with lesser talent.

NK.

mmmman!

tell 'em how you reaally feel!!! ye’s the man in my book, inflated ego and all…i like that he does not attempt to feign humbleness for the masses…he believes in his ability as creative & thus far its worked for him…

Yeah, ditto to what Taylor said.

kanye, as an artist, got worse and worse as he progressed in albums. his first one was his best body of work where he used his backpacking connections to do some awesome colabos with some of the industry’s most conscious artsist (the mighty mos, talib and common).

as for the shoes, i think that that use of an already existing midsole, and the lack of real innovation anywhere in the upper was more of a throwaway offer from nike to colabo with kanye than a genuine belief in the artist. i mean, check his love of trends and fads. it doesn’t really make him a loyal follower to anyone or anything. he could rock bapes one day, adidas the next, and his nike’s every third wednesday. why would nike offer him some of their best materials, technologies and designs when he wouldn’t be able to offer loyalty on the same level as someone like mj? my take is that nike just gave him a bland shoe because they knew that it wouldn’t be a full investment on either side, with one party being able to sell a mid-level shoe at a high level price because a big name is attached to it, and the other party being eager to sell out more. both party wins…but not the consumer.

‘george bush does not care about black people’

i will forever have respect for kanye for that :stuck_out_tongue: whether i, or anyone else believes in that or not, i give him credit for saying what he believed in and not caring about being ‘poitically correct’. and not letting his fame overrun his beliefs.

but i agree with Rizal, made some good points, even if thats not what nike was thinking it definately makes sense. plus in the market that the air yeezy is in, his name will give it enough credibility to be on all the hype blogs regardless of what it looks like.

215 for those?! No thanks. More overpriced “fusion-esque” landfill fodder inspired by a generation who refuses to create their own style.

have to agree on that

ABSOLUTELY (capslock ON!!)

Its almost like it was a different person who said that… i got an mpeg of that segment where he says that, i thought that was a huge moment for hip hop… and now look at him.

Im usually not a fan of the hypebeasters, hype blogs etc, but these interviews are pretty cool. regardless of how many douche bags are in the game i really respect these two:

http://hypebeast.com/2009/03/tough-times-a-look-into-the-current-state-of-streetwear/2/

http://hypebeast.com/2009/03/tough-times-a-look-into-the-current-state-of-streetwear/3/

NK

i say that as an artist 'ye is definitely better now than he was on college dropout, one definitely could make the argument that his albums got progressively got worse, and not due to some drastic shift in philosophy. each of the following albums were just a lil more “mainstream” friendly than the previous one (though late registration was very ill & regarded as on par with dropout by many). however i believe he is a MUCH better emcee both lyrically & technically at this point than @ any point prior…

mmmmmmaaan!

definitely etched in my memory, if not only for the sight of chris tucker & mike myers’ reaction to that statement…priceless!

Its almost like it was a different person who said that… i got an mpeg of that segment where he says that, i thought that was a huge moment for hip hop… and now look at him.

exactly, its nearly 5 years later, should he be the same person? “came in the game and made his own lane”

sorry about hi-jacking the thread w/the kanye/hip-hop tangent…

back to this:

inspired by a generation who refuses to create their own style.

i wonder how people feel about that? does that ring true? not sure if that is case…

I don’t think a pop culture celebrity saying something uninformed and controversial is really a break through for hip hop. Pop stars have been doing that for years.

Jungle…yeah that was probably a little harsh. But growing up in the 80s and 90s we saw all of these things just manifested with sheer creativity and energy. Now everything seems like just a fusion from the raw materials of the last 3-4 decades with no NEW and truly creative stuff out there. I do like the designer toy movement and a lot of the underground artists coming up, so obviously it’s not a completely black and white statement. And I understand that ALL generations borrow from their predecessors. Just seems like overkill right now. I’m ready for next.