Kanye West’s Adidas partnership is “under review”

The news comes after the rapper caused outrage by wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week.

Kanye West’s partnership with sportswear giant Adidas is under review, as reported by CNBC and Hypebeast.

The news comes just days after the rapper presented a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt design at Paris Fashion Week. The company did not mention the controversy but said “successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values.” Ye responded on Instagram, claiming the brand “stole” his designs.

A statement from Adidas reportedly read: “Adidas has always been about creativity, innovation, and supporting athletes and artists to achieve their vision. The Adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history. We are proud of our team that has worked tirelessly throughout our collaboration with [Kanye West] and the iconic products that were born from it.

“We also recognise that all successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values. After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review. We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period.”

In response, Kanye took to Instagram and, in a since-deleted post wrote: “FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS [sic].”

Ye partnered with Adidas under the Yeezy banner in late 2013, with their first collection debuting in 2015. Under the terms of West’s contract with Adidas, the artist retains full ownership of the Yeezy brand and has complete creative control over the products released through the brand.

Over the past year though, Kanye has accused Adidas of a number of wrongs, including allegedly creating Yeezy Day, the annual day in which the brand releases some of its most anticipated Yeezy sneaker drops, without his personal approval. He also hit out at the company again with a new post imagining the death of the sportswear brand’s CEO Kasper Rørsted.

Writer
Chris Saunders
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YouTube / Drink Champs