words_Nick DePaula
photography_Zac Dubasik
[As published in Sole Collector's Issue 29, available HERE]

Beyond the frenzied glowing outsole, high reaching collar, rich leathers and bold midfoot strap, there is also a whole host of details to be found in the Air Yeezy. To start, one of the most noticeable elements of the upper is not a single overlay or technology, but rather, a print: the repeating “Y” pattern. “He referenced the elephant print, and I said, ‘Well, let’s do something that’s specific to you.’ I said we could come up with a graphic that’s very simple that could be made out of Ys, because we had already come up with the Y that we were using on the lace lock,” explains Mark Smith. “I just suggested that we could do a pattern instead. I put that together, thinking that from a distance it plays the same role that an elephant print plays, but it’s not the elephant and is definitely meant for Yeezy.” The somewhat controversial pattern amongst those who disliked the shoe – it was more extensively used on the first two release colorways than the last – wasn’t the only Kanye-specific touch, as the aforementioned lace lock and heel pull tab also feature Yeezy specific details.

West’s love for the Air Jordan signature line may be widely known, and along with his hopes to use Jordan tooling and elephant print on the shoe, he also had plans to incorporate a lace lock as well onto the tongue, an iconic trinket that can be attributed to the Air Jordan V. Once again, rather than simply re-use a molded part or piece, Smith insisted on having any kind of lacelock be simple and tie back to Kanye, and the result is a circular rubberized piece that has a Y-shaped cavity for the laces to slide through securely. Though it is true that Kanye West was the first-ever non-athlete to receive his very own signature shoe from Nike, it’s also worth noting that during one of his concerts, he’s really not much different than a professional basketball or football player.

With thousands upon thousands cheering as he blesses the stage for each concert, he’s expected to perform just as Kobe Bryant is expected to make a free throw or Tony Romo is expected to complete a pass. Ultimately, what West does around the world is perform, and the overall comfort of the shoe couldn’t be compromised at any cost. With a memory foam sockliner and generously padded collar, Smith made sure to place a premium on feel. “From a performance standpoint, it really had to be really comfortable, it had to be simple to make, and it couldn’t be ugly, but ugly is always up to everyone,” laughs Smith. “I just tried to make it super comfortable, and if you’re going to jump around on stage for a couple of hours, but you want to do it in a shoe that’s more of a retro lifestyle and previously a performance shoe, that’s what you would do on the inside, is make it super plush and comfortable.”

With Mark Smith placing such an emphasis on West’s involvement and connection to the shoe, deciding on the colorways was no different, as the two thought up each iteration that would go on to release. “The colorways were all a mix. I think we sampled a bunch of stuff in standard materials and colors that we had here for the first few rounds, just to get the patterns right and get the fit and construction right,” reveals Smith. “From there, I do remember a specific session where we said, ‘We’re far enough along; let’s do some colorups. Let’s see what we can make this thing look like.’ It might’ve been the second or third trip that he made out.”

Throughout the whole process, Kanye continued to stress he wanted a retro look and he also wanted to emphasize loud accent colors that would give some pop to the more monochrome and casual base colors that he envisioned for the shoe’s upper. “Really, at that point, we had a ton of colorways just to get some reactions and see where we wanted to take it, and he had a couple of influences,” says Smith. “The tan colorway was definitely him, and the black and pink was more mine. The grey colorway was kind of a slam between the two of us. I really tried to keep the focus on the technical comfort of the inside being really basic and simple and high-end from a sneaker standpoint.”

Below: A sample colorway that simply never made it.