In case you missed the news or you’ve simply been ignoring the antics of Kanye “Ye” West (good choice), you may not know that Ye has essentially stopped wearing sneakers. The YEEZY founder now exclusively wears boxy tops — sometimes football jerseys — tights, and sock-like sneakers, a far cry from the baggy uniform he used to wear in years past.
Er, scratch that “sock-like sneakers” bit: Ye is just wearing literal socks now.
Spotted on May 15 en route to the gym and Christian fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A, Ye and wife Bianca Censori were seen wearing the tight-fitting clothing that’s been their go-to as of late, with one notable change: Ye has foregone shoes entirely.
This comes mere days after Ye was seen wearing MMA shinguards in place of shoes.
Ye kept wearing his cropped leather pullover and tights but swapped his MMA-style shoes — reportedly Ye’s trademarked YEEZY SOCK SNEAKER design — for a pair of Sand Socks, neoprene booties designed for volleyball players and other sand-based athletes.
On the Sand Socks’ website, where you can buy a pair of Ye’s new go-to outdoor socks for $27.99, the maker purports that the design dates back to 1994, making them nearly 20 years old.
This appears to be par for the course, as far as Ye’s new look is concerned.
In 2022, Ye’s go-to daily outfit comprised boxy hoodies, paint-splattered Levi’s, and pull-on Red Wing boots.
In 2022, as he rolls out new YEEZY collections and prepares to open a dedicated YEEZY store, Ye has moved on to boxy tops, tights, and sole-less shoes.
It’s interesting that, as adidas prepares to offload its remaining YEEZY sneaker stock for charity, Ye has eschewed sneakers entirely.
No more YEEZYs, no more 3D-printed Zellerfeld boots, no more sweatpants: Ye is just wearing socks now.
Hard to imagine consumers or even Ye’s die-hard fans — you know, the devotees unbothered by Ye’s unrepentant anti-Semitism — following suit, honestly.
On the other hand, if Ye’s forthcoming YZY SOCK SNEAKER (he seems to prefer the shortened YEEZY spelling) has at least a slight sole, it should appeal to the wide audience that still buys sock sneakers from makers like, ironically, Ye’s former friends at Balenciaga.