Kanye West files to trademark Yeezy sock shoes after Adidas cut ties with him
Kanye West files for trademark Yeezy sock shoes…after Adidas said it would sell remaining Yeezy shoes and donate proceeds to charity
- The new product is referred to as “YZY SOCK SHOES” in filings
- West previously wore something similar in 2019
- Due to his recent anti-Semitic remarks, he would have difficulty finding a shopkeeper
Kanye West appears to be trying to get back into the shoe game after Adidas cut ties with him last year over a series of anti-Semitic comments.
The 45-year-old disgraced rapper has filed for a trademark for new Yeezy Sock Shoes, TMZ reported Friday.
The documents were filed May 4 by West’s Mascotte Holdings Inc., and they listed the product as “YZY SOCK SHOES.”
The forms reportedly contained few details about what the sock shoes would look like, though they were described as “Socks; socks with leather soles.’
West appears to be pushing ahead even as longtime partner Adidas said it planned to sell off its remaining stock of Yeezy shoes — without its brand — before donating the proceeds to charity.
New venture: Kanye West, 45, has filed to trademark Yeezy Sock Shoes, according to documents obtained by TMZ on Friday; seen in February 2020 in Beverly Hills
Long in the making: West was previously seen in what may have been an early version of the design in 2019. They were described as ‘Socks; socks with leather soles
While he’s only now trying to trademark the design, it looks like it’s been years in the making.
TMZ shared a photo of the Monster rapper, taken in 2019, showing him wearing what appeared to be a pair of gray socks.
They seemed to be sturdier like a high shoe, and they also seemed to have the same leather soles as the new product.
It’s not clear if this is his next big inspiration, or if it was just a nifty design he had lying around years earlier.
Even if West gets his trademark, it’s unclear how he would sell the sock shoes after Adidas ended its relationship with him.
Many retailers are said to resent selling products associated with him after a series of racist and anti-Semitic remarks, as well as his squabbling with white supremacists and alt-right figures, including Nick Fuentes and Milo Yiannopoulos.
West could also try selling them through his own Yeezy label, but he might struggle to find someone to even make the socks.
Despite his audience share being lower than ever, the rapper and producer is still pushing ahead with a 2024 presidential campaign, though his organization is still called Kanye 2020 after the last election.
It was reported earlier this week that his campaign treasurer had resigned.
Canceled: West would find it difficult to get anyone to sell the shoes — or even manufacture them — because of his recent anti-Semitic remarks; seen in 2015 in LA
Brand sale: Adidas has said it plans to sell some of its remaining stock of Yeezys and donate the proceeds to Chairty; seen in March 2022
On his way out, Patrick Krason wrote two letters of resignation, one addressed to West and the other Monday to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Krason claimed in his letter that he had learned of a “potentially serious criminal transaction” related to the Kanye 2020 campaign, saying that Yiannopoulos had “submitted false invoices and incurred expenses that would be considered illegal.”
Those transactions would have been made in November 2022, before Krason assumed the role of treasurer.
He further claimed that there was too much “personal animosity” for a professional relationship with Yiannopoulos – whose emails to both Fuentes, a known white supremacist, and Alexander were similarly leaked by TMZ.