It’s finally here!
The third incarnation of Kanye West’s Yeezy sneaker and his new apparel line has been introduced at the Kanye West x adidas Originals YEEZY SEASON 1 show during New York Fashion Week at the Skylight Clarkson SQ venue.
The adidas Yeezy Boost 750 drops in New York on Valentine’s Day, the rest of the world will have to wait until the 28th of this month when they become available at adidas Originals stores and other yet to be determined stockists. Although it has been reported that the first shipment will number only 9000 pairs, Kanye has promised that the shoes will eventually be more readily available than ever before. Hopefully this time around I can be one of the lucky ones to get my hands on a pair.
Earlier today I attended the Yeezy launch event here in Melbourne. As the event in NYC was being streamed live around the globe, it was scheduled to commence here in Australia in the wee hours of the morning. Conflicting time zones be damned, I ventured into the city to watch the show unfold at the Melbourne central Hoyts cinema located in the CBD.
Upon entering the theatre, a timer counting down to the launch was splashed across the big screen. I took my seat with a buddy of mine and waited. When the countdown finally reached zero, we were met with this dynamic new commercial for the shoe. I was impressed with what I saw, but it didn’t reveal a great deal that we didn’t already know. The advertisement continued to play repeatedly. my buddy, myself and the crowd waiting on what Kanye had in store for us next.
As the commercial continued to play we waited some more.
And some more.
By that stage I was thinking, is this part of Kanye’s master plan? Is the repetitive loop some kind of subliminal attempt to brainwash me into buying a pair?
Nope, it was just a technical hiccup a cinema attendant burst into the cinema and announced.
With the natives and hype beasts growing restless, the looping commercial finally ceased and the screen faded to black. The live feed then opened up with a camera angled down and facing forward on a barely lit room. Silhouetted figures assembled dead centre and standing completely still gave one the impression of lifeless mannequins. People were milling around the outskirts, still no faces could be seen. As anticipation built, the whole thing screamed Kanye’s artistic and theatrical side, the magical Mr. West keeping us on the edge of our seats waiting for the reveal.
A German accent interrupted proceedings, the voice belonging to an event organiser who was abruptly quieting the assembled crowd and preparing those present for the opening. The room quietened and a yet to be seen Kanye commenced speaking, his distinctive Chicago accent immediately garnering the attention of both audiences. Hidden somewhere behind a curtain and doing his best Wizard of Oz impression, this was of course the creative visionary Kanye talking, but best I let him tell you himself…
If you watched all 12 minutes and 31 seconds of that video you would have seen this appear at the 8:20 mark. That’s right, the never heard before track number 1 from Kanye’s upcoming and still untitled album. Wolves was by far the highlight of the event for yours truly. If we are to gauge the sound of the new album from that track, sonically it sounds like it will be in line with 808′s & Heartbreak and Yeezus. Let’s listen to it again shall we…
Sia’s haunting vocals are used to perfection by producers Sinjin Hawke and Cashmere Cat, but it was the addition of up and coming artist Vic Mensa that won the day for me. I recently had the opportunity to see Mensa perform live here in Melbourne and I thought he had superstar potential written all over him, it seems Kanye also sees something promising in his fellow Chicagoan.
With the song concluding, the star of the show finally emerged to close out the event. Rocking a black hoody, black jeans and a pair of his signature sneakers, West silently acknowledged the crowd and left the stage almost as quickly as he made his way to the front of it.
And with that, the much hyped show was over.
After having what I’m guessing are only a portion of his fashion dreams come to life, ushering in a new era for adidas and dropping a new track, Kanye had left the building (well at least for those of us sitting in the cinema and not present in New York).
As the lights in the cinema started to brighten, I couldn’t help but think of a quote attributed to both Walt Disney and P.T Barnum.
“Always leave them wanting more”.
Kanye achieved just that.
