Kanye West reissues Yeezy military boots, releases Balmain music video
Kanye West does not appear to be a believer in summer Fridays. The self-proclaimed “artist” today announced the reissue of his Yeezy season 2 military crepe boots, and hours later unveiled his new music video for “Wolves” – which appears to double as an advertisement for Balmain.
In “Wolves” – a song first heard by fans at West’s February Madison Square Garden “Life of Pablo” listening party and fashion show – director Steven Klein applies a black-and-white veneer to an army of Victoria’s Secret disciples dressed in designs by Olivier Rousteing: Alessandra Ambrosio, Josephine Skriver, Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls and Cindy Crawford among them.
The video – which appears to have been shot at New York City nightclub Gilded Lily – opens with a static Balmain logo. It credits Rousteing as its creative director, and sees artists Sia and Vic Mensa, as well as West’s spouse Kim Kardashian appearing in varied forms.
It would make sense that West – who has past taken to Twitter and television to bemoan his personal debt, a public lack of appreciation of music videos, and their extravagant cost – would seek out the sponsorship of another entity for his videos going forward. He and Rousteing share a long history, and West presently appears in Balmain’s fall advertisements.
Music video not alone, today West announced that his Yeezy collection will release a new batch of military crepe boots to its fans — this time in a new color way.
The desert boot-sneaker hybrid will now come in a blackish color that the brand has labeled as “oil.” It will be released on Monday.
The shoe was shown as part of Yeezy’s second season. It will come in sizes for men and women. The shoes are produced in Spain — largely of suede and leather. They will retail worldwide at select stores including Selfridges and Barneys New York.
Kanye’s Yeezy collections mainly hedge their sales on footwear — which have proven to be a branding and commercial boon for the musician. His Yeezy sneakers have incited a craze on the resale market — selling for multitudes more than their shelf price.
In June, West revealed that he and Adidas had expanded their partnership and that they would link on performance wear designs, as well as lifestyle.
At the time, Adidas called the alliance unprecedented, saying it is “the most significant partnership ever created between a nonathlete and an athletic brand.”
Release dates for such products remain unknown.
West is expected to hold some type of fashion show this approaching September, though it is not clear if he will reprise his staging at Madison Square Garden. February’s listening party-fashion-show hybrid there sold out tickets, and drew more than 20 million viewers to its live-stream.
Adidas is clearly on something of a roll. Earlier this week, the brand reported strong results for the second quarter and raised its guidance for the year. The company’s net income from continuing operations should increase between 35 and 39 percent, up from a previous guidance of around 25 percent, and operating margin is projected to increase up to 7.5 percent, versus a former projection of about 7 percent.
Sales in currency-neutral terms are expected to grow in the high teens, against a prior forecast of about 15 percent.
