Our man on the ground, Alex Needham, reports the issue with the start time might have something to do with the MASSIVE queue he’s stuck in outside the venue
@Lanre_Bakare The #YEEZYBOOST queue pic.twitter.com/zDzxOSGgjm
— Alex Needham (@alexneedham74) February 12, 2015
Talk among yourselves is the order of the day
People in theater are just talking normally now. Waiting for the ad to stop looping. #YEEZYBOOST #melbourne
— BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! (@agalea) February 12, 2015
Well, that and a deep sense of injustice
Why you doing this to us @kanyewest #YEEZYBOOST
— Jeff Behm (@jfbehm) February 12, 2015
Kylie Jenner (Kim’s little sister) wore her Yeezy’s to the event - and brought a sleeping bag
KYLIE JENNER in her #YEEZYBOOST on her way to the show. pic.twitter.com/GAl21AIvFM
— KimKanyeKimye (@KimKanyeKimyeFC) February 12, 2015
Pusha T has a pair as well. He’s keeping them box fresh though…
Let the games begin...who gonna rock em the freshest? #YeezyBoost pic.twitter.com/nYjiEWBk1e
— PUSHA T (@PUSHA_T) February 12, 2015
Apparently the show hasn’t started on time at the theatres either…
It begins with the ad that just dropped online. The ad is looping. Theater is laughing. #yeezyboost. pic.twitter.com/AVb51r1sEx
— BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! (@agalea) February 12, 2015
We’ve reached the deadline and… the clock has started to count from zero. Don’t fret, these things never start on time
Here are a few more pertinent questions that you might be asking before things kick off, namely: why does anyone care about a pair of sneakers (I may refer to these as trainers by accident - sorry, I’m British).
Why does anyone care about sneakers? Aren’t they just for teenagers with zero fashion sense?
Well trainers are big business. You can make a healthy living from selling trainers with limited edition pairs trading for hundreds and sometimes thousands between collectors. Here’s what fivethirtyeight wrote about the trainer trade:
“The markup can be astonishing. The average eBay price of the LeBron 10 What the MVP sneaker? $2,086. The Nike Air MAG Back to the Future? $5,718. How about the Air Yeezy 2 Red October, designed by Kanye West and released by Nike this year for $250 retail? It sold on eBay for an average price of $2,958, with almost two dozen people paying at least $8,000”
Last time West released a pair they sold out in 11 minutes.
Funnily enough, as NPR pointed out on their Planet Money show, and as depicted in this Campless graphic below, the graph linking time, money and trainer sales looks like a Nike swoosh.
Ok. I haven’t got $350 to chuck about - which trainers should I be buying.
Well, if you want to go with Adidas then the two obvious choices for en vogue footwear are the Stan Smiths, which they rebooted last summer to coincide with the World Cup. Loads of celebs have been wearing them including designer Jeremy Scott, Rita Ora and Jay Z. Here’s what Lauren Cochrane had to say about it:
“Superstars do have heritage – tworn by Run DMC, they were the subject of their track My Adidas in 1986. Other fans include Neneh Cherry and Kate Moss, and the reboot has worked so far. Grazia has already featured the Superstar as the trainer of the season, Ora has been fulfilling her contract by wearing them around town, while other tastemakers such as Snoop and Jeremy Scott have been doing the same. With the next round of fashion shows only a week away, the front-row test is looming. If the Superstar is taken up there, Adidas might have another trainer triumph in their sights. Here is a guide to who’s who in the Superstar gang so far.”
So look out for some Stans appearing today.
If you want to go with Nike then the Nike Huaranche, which was first released 24 years ago, and came back in a big way last year, is the trainer for you. Here’s what Complex had to say about the comeback:
“Countless technologies have come and gone since the Huarache debuted, but the appeal of this one sustains. Some people will try to tell you that the world of trainers (sneakers if we have to call them that for a global audience) is in rude health, but the fact a shoe that’s old enough to legally drink — and back when this one first appeared, we thought that shoes were getting so progressive that they might be eating, talking, drinking androids for the feet by 2014 — is the big shoe now is as much a testament to a lack of progression as it is a display of great design’s endless appeal.”
Right on with the show.
I should have mentioned, I’m in an office in New York watching things unfold, while Alex Needham is down on the front-row trying to get a peak at those sneakers.
By the way, that backstage feed looks like it’s been looping for at least a couple hours, like that bit on Speed.
Here’s a quick rundown of what is about to happen and why people care.
What is this all about?
Ostensibly we’re all here to watch the launch of Kanye West’s latest shoe/trainer/sneaker the Adidas Yeezy 750 Boost. It’s his third footwear design after the release of the Air Yeezy with Nike, which was followed by the Red October (Air Yeezy 2) in February 2014.
Kanye started a website with a mysterious countdown that ended… today. Eagle-eyed detectives might have figured out it was going to count down to the release of the Yeezy considering it coincided with the start of fashion week in New York.
West left Nike and joined Adidas after the former apparently put the reins on his creative output. Speaking to Hot97’s Angie Martinez he said:
“Y’all saw what I did in those brief moments, and the fashion world saw it too,” said Kanye. “And they afraid of it. You know the impact those Louis Vuitton bags had, you know the impact the Yeezys had. Now, this is one thing when the conversation changes, when you have a child. Because it was cool when they marginalized me, and I asked them when the Yeezy Red Octobers coming out... They said, ‘We’re not sure yet.’ They let me design two shoes over five years, and I’m happy I could design them, but they ain’t do me no favors, ‘cause Eminem designed a shoe. And Pharrell designed a shoe. I just designed the Yeezys.”
He also spoke about it in his now infamous interview with Zane Lowe:
So what should we expect?
West has recruited Italian visual artist Vanessa Beecroft to put something together for the launch
Her work usually features lots of nude women, so prepare to possibly see boobs (although things might be covered up judging by the backstage feed). As you might expect it’s pretty divisive. Speaking ahead of a show in 2005 – you can tell it’s 2005 because we refer to Guardian Unlimited – she spoke about her work:
“Her critics have accused her of exploiting women. Her fans have praised her art as bold and feminist. Either way, there is little doubt that thousands of people are likely to turn up today to see Vanessa Beecroft’s latest work - not least, one suspects, because it involves 100 naked women.
Today’s performance in Berlin is the biggest show ever by Beecroft, a 35-year-old conceptual artist who has been staging nude tableaux vivants since 1993. Gradually, they have attracted attention, to the point where a Beecroft performance is now a major international arts event.
Yesterday, at the preview of her show, titled VB55, Beecroft said that she had tried this time to keep her models as natural as possible. In previous shows, the women were naked or semi-naked. But Beecroft has also dressed them in high heels and garish red, yellow or platinum wigs. For this show, however, staged in Berlin’s see-through New National Gallery, the women wear only tights.
What, though, was it all about? “I wanted the women to be slightly hypnotised, so they appear removed and detached from the audience,” she told Guardian Unlimited. “It’s not a concept that can be easily explained,” she added. “I would say it includes embarrassment, shame, violence and abuse.” Was she embarrassed by her own performances, in fact? “Yes, I am,” she said.”
Got it? Good.
She’s also been described as “a hypocritically self-aware narcissist”, which is the same charge often applied of a certain Mr West. So, in theory at least, this should be a good fit (or they might have a big row).
Got any interesting facts about Beecroft?
Yep. Once she adopted Sudanese twins after visiting the country in 2006. Here’s an extract from an interview in 2009.
At what point did you decide you wanted to adopt the twins?
The moment Sister Jacqueline handed them to me, saying they had no mother. Their father couldn’t look after them. They started to feed off me and I nursed them for weeks.
How did people react back home?
My husband Greg filed for divorce [in the film Beecroft tries to get a law created which would allow her to adopt the children without his consent].
Blimey.
To watch the event unfold you either have to be at the event, get a ticket to one of the 42 theatres showing it or watch on the website http://yeezy.supply/.
IN HERE. #YEEZYBOOST #YeezySeasonApproaching pic.twitter.com/gcMFEXsj2w
— Devin Dismang (@dismayne) February 12, 2015
People are counting down to lift off and on the live feed at the moment there’s what looks like a backstage shot with fashion makeup star Pat McGrath directing a gaggle of models. We’ll be underway in less than 15 minutes.
Welcome to the Yeezy Boost liveblog.
Just when you thought there was no way Kanye West could make any more headlines this week, here we are, liveblogging about his first sneaker for Adidas.
You might have heard that on Sunday night he climbed on stage at the Grammys when Beck won best album over Beyonce, and then revealed he might be collaborating with Taylor Swift. Today we found out he’s even been trying to help Will Smith reboot his music career, but he’s not content with that though. Oh no, now he’s at New York fashion week.
For those wondering why it’s important I’ll try to explain shortly, but for now here’s the teaser video for the trainers/sneakers and someone’s homemade efforts of the aforementioned footwear.
So, who's copping when they drop? #YEEZYBOOST pic.twitter.com/pBXSWcqUCo
— SWVNK Mag (@SWVNK_Mag) February 12, 2015
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