Badly Burned by Kanye, Adidas Wanted the Next Yeezy. Fear of God Athletics Isn’t It. 

Prior to Kanye West’s dramatic 2022 public meltdown — during which he made multiple bizarre and antisemitic comments, praised Hitler and appeared on the show of the notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — his  Yeezy collaboration with Adidas was a veritable money printer for the German footwear corporation. In the nine years following its 2013 inception, Yeezy made Adidas billions and lifted the company to previously unseen heights of cultural relevance, with the 350 v2, 700 “Wave Runner,” and Yeezy Slides all being modern footwear best sellers. Morgan Stanley analyst Edouard Aubin estimated that the Yeezy line was responsible for $1.8 billion in annual sales, roughly 8 percent of the company’s total revenue, and more than 40 percent of its profits. The unsold inventory of 2022 alone was worth $1.3 billion.