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- Jan 18, 2000
Last night Kanye West was on Seth Meyers. I have a friend who works on the set design for the show and gets to work with a lot of the music talent to create their vision if they want a particular backdrop or light graphics, etc. He has met Kanye several times whilst working on other shows. My friend is also a bit of a sneakerhead, so every time he knows that he'll cross paths with a celebrity that has an interest in kicks, he'll wear something to try and start up a conversation. Yesterday, he had on a pair of custom foams that he had painted and when he crossed paths with Kanye pre-soundcheck, Kanye took a couple minutes to stop and talk with him. My friend, who wants to remain anonymous, asked about what was going to be coming from Adidas, if he was disappointed about what happened with Nike, etc, and Kanye was tight lipped. But, when asked about his role in the design process, he was a good bit more forthcoming (my friend called from set and was like 'holy sh*t, do I have news!'). My friend said that Kanye kept insisting 'they're all me', as in Kanye played a vital role in the design process. Whilst he was talking (and talking and talking my friend said) he pulled out a red notebook that he said was covered in the same red leather as on the Yeezy 2s (crocodile or alligator?). Inside this folder he had sketches, computer renderings and a number of paper cutouts with material samples of at least 2 different shoes. One was a simple Timberland-style boot in luxury leather and below is the one that my friend was more interested in as we both have an interest in furniture design and the eames lounge is probably the most famous american designed chair of the last 100 years. My friend said that Kanye was more than familiar with the chair and said that he owned a couple and has really wanted to do something with faux wood grain for some time now (also mentioning Picasso and 'foix bois' as an inspiration). He also wanted to use aged, crackly leather and especially faux seal skin (like on antique doctor's bags). My friend said that one rendering showed that the laces were open (similar to the Jordan Autoclave) with the 2 leather straps crossing over (similar to FP3, but attaching with loop and velcro like AF25s). My friend asked if this design would actually be releasing in some form or whether it was just a concept or if these were something for nike before he left. Kanye wouldn't open up beyond saying, 'they're all me' and was obviously really proud of them. The biggest surprise was his willingness to let me friend take a few photos and even had one of his entourage text him three of the pictures. My friend said that the way Kanye was talking was like this was some big secret (of course it is, but he was talking like it was going to change the world), but one that we'd probably be hearing a whole lot more about in the very near future. I can't speak to whether these were a proposed Yeezy 3 (they do have air), whether they're part of the Adidas line or something Kanye put together in his own time. What I will say is that my friend emphasized how truly excited Kanye was about some of these design cues and if all the talk of late of him being super hands on is true, these could speak volumes...
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