Adidas collaboration with Kayne West – Adidas Yeezy

Adidas is a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures sports shoes, clothing and accessories. Adolf Dassler founded Adidas. Adolf and his older brother started to produce their own sports shoes in their mother’s wash kitchen. Adolf was the first to sponsor an African America sprinter, Jesse Owens, in the 1936 summer Olympics. Owen’s success created a good reputation for Dassler, as trainers of other national teams became interested in their shoes. Due to a growing riff between he and his brother, they split up in 1947. Adolf Dassler founded Adidas on August 18^th, 1949. Adidas is now the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and second largest in the world, after Nike.

On December 3^rd, 2013, Adidas confirmed an apparel and shoe collaboration with Kayne West.

Fashion gives people an opportunity to satisfy hedonic needs. “Hedonic goods are consumed for luxury purposes, which are desirable objects that allow the consumer to feel pleasure, fun, and enjoyment from buying the product. This is the difference from utilitarian goods, which are purchased for their practical uses and are based on the consumer's needs” (Hedonic Motivation, n.d.). Fashion also reflects times and changes in society, such as the current health and fitness lifestyle trend along with the shift towards active wear as everyday street wear.

Fashion can be a signal of status. There were only 9000 pairs available for the initial release of the Adidas Yeezy Boost 750, which were only available in New York City, a known major fashion centre, via the Adidas app – the shoes were sold out within 10 minutes.

Kayne West is a famous hip hop artist among the most acclaimed musicians of the 21^st century. He, as a fashion leader, displays the trickle-down effect. The sneakers are worn by celebrities of high social status, such as those shown on the shoeboxes below, as well as every day ordinary fans of low social status.

References:

Adidas History. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas

Adidas Yeezy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas_Yeezy

Hedonic Motivation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_motivation

[Adidas Yeezy Boost 750 sneaker image]. Retrieved from http://cdn.sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/kanye-west-sneaker-adidas.jpg

[Adidas Yeezy Boost 750 sneaker box image]. Retrieved from http://sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/adidas-yeezy-750-boost-box.jpg