Kanye West Launches 'Yeezy Season 01' at New LA Store Years After Selling $20 Swastika T-Shirts

Kanye West has brought Yeezy, his fashion and footwear brand, back to the runway, marking its first major fashion show in four years. The return follows a turbulent period marred by West's controversial statements and publicity stunts, which damaged his image and relationships with industry partners. Now, with a new collection taking the spotlight, Yeezy is attempting to return to the fold under intense scrutiny.

Yeezy Holds Fashion Show at Brand's Debut Flagship Store

After four years, Kanye West's fashion brand is set to make a comeback at Yeezy Flagship Droam 1 at 4317 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. The venue is scheduled to host a runway show on 4 November.

The show, titled 'Yeezy Season 01', seemingly signals a clean slate for the brand, which has had its fair share of controversies over the years. It also celebrates Yeezy's first brick-and-mortar store as the brand looks to expand its presence beyond online sales, according to Business of Fashion.

West first ventured into footwear through a partnership with Nike in 2009. The collaboration gave rise to the Nike Air Yeezy, which Kanye used to launch Yeezy LLC and a later partnership with Adidas. The latter collaboration made its debut at New York Fashion Week in 2015.

Yeezy's Last Fashion Show Had Adidas and Other Brands Cut Ties With Kanye

Yeezy's last runway show during Paris Fashion Week in October 2022 was marred by controversy. It wasn't part of the official show calendar, but rather a last-minute surprise that was planned in secret.

West introduced the show, titled 'Yeezy Season 9', by telling his audience, 'Everyone here knows that I am the leader... you can't manage me. This is an unmanageable situation,' as reported by The Guardian. The rapper wore a black long-sleeved shirt featuring the face of Pope John Paul II on the front and the phrase 'White Lives Matter' on the back. Political commentator Candace Owens was in attendance and snapped a photo with West wearing a white version of the top.

Several models also walked the runway wearing different versions of the 'White Lives Matter' top, prompting high-profile guests and audience members to walk out.

The Anti-Defamation League spoke out, stating that the phrase is a form of white supremacist hate slogan.

The backlash was swift, resulting in the termination of Yeezy's deal with Adidas and the end of one of the brand's most successful collaborations.

In a statement, Adidas said, 'Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.' The company was reportedly left with $1.3 billion (£965 million) worth of Yeezy inventory.

Other brands followed suit. West opened for Balenciaga a day before his controversial fashion show, and the luxury brand immediately cut ties with him. Foot Locker removed Yeezy from its shelves and stopped purchasing inventory of the brand.

West's talent agency also dropped him as a client.

Yeezy Sold Shirts With a Swatzika on Them

In 2025, West purchased a regional advertising slot during the Super Bowl, using the 30-second commercial to promote Yeezy. In the advert, he urged viewers to visit the Yeezy website and shop.

After the commercial aired, the site initially continued to function normally. Later, its products were removed, leaving a plain white T-shirt featuring a swastika on the front, which was listed for $20 (£15.20).

E-commerce hosting platform Shopify deactivated the online store less than 48 hours after the commercial aired, saying the merchant had violated its terms.

In a separate Super Bowl advertising campaign in 2024, West promoted Yeezy.com and later shared sales data showing that the website had received 294,357 orders in 24 hours, with total sales of $19.3 million (£14.3 million). The majority of the sales reportedly came from Yeezy Pods.

At its peak in 2021, Yeezy was valued somewhere between $3.2 billion (£2.3 billion) and $4.7 billion (£3.4 billion), based on different reports. Following West's controversies, the brand's value reportedly declined significantly. Forbes estimated the rapper's net worth at $400 million (£296 million), down from its earlier $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) valuation.

Despite West's efforts to revive Yeezy, the brand still has a lot to prove before it can reclaim the success it enjoyed at its peak. While he has since apologised and given explanations for his antisemitic rants, the road to a comeback proves to be an uphill battle.