Yeezy

Few fashion brands come with their own hype man, but then again, few fashion brands are Yeezy, the creative brainchild of Kanye West. Debuting at New York Fashion Week with a Vanessa Beecroft–staged presentation during the Fall 2015 season, Yeezy is West’s latest attempt at a clothing line; an eponymous collection folded in 2011, and Pastelle before that. Yeezy outfits are almost always monochrome—grays, browns, blacks, and oranges are favorite hues—and either second-skin tight or so loose the body is swallowed completely by holey knits and shearlings. But the real heroes of the Yeezy empire are the sneakers.

The iconic Yeezy Boost was the 350, made in collaboration with Adidas Originals. The low knit sneakers came in heather gray and were an instant hit, drawing lines of hundreds to Adidas stores and racking up prices well into four figures on the aftermarket. Since, West has released the 350 style in a variety of colors, as well as added the 950 boot, available in a duck boot cut or entirely in suede. The shoes have become a pop cultural sensation, worn by every celebrity from Pharrell Williams to Gigi Hadid and touted in West’s track “Facts,” in which he raps, “Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman.”

In 2016, West married his musical and fashion ventures with Yeezy’s Season 3 show at Madison Square Garden, which doubled as a listening party for his new album, The Life of Pablo. The three-hour affair featured the Kardashian-Jenner clan in the audience wearing Yeezy and Balmain outfits, supers Naomi Campbell and Veronica Webb strutting in black catsuits and fur coats, and a performance art piece by Beecroft that included over 1,000 extras. Approximately 18,000 people bought tickets to attend the event in New York.