In 2013, Kanye West broke fashion culture, announcing that he’d be leaving Nike and bringing his “Yeezy” collaborative line and team to their chief competitor, Adidas. For ten years, the collaboration would produce classic, best-selling sneakers, changing the fashion industry and minting billions for Adidas and Kanye alike.

Yet at the end of 2022, just before the ten-year anniversary mark, Kanye began a series of erratic episodes, in which he raged against Adidas, spread antisemitism, and ultimately appeared on the show of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and praised Hitler. By then, Adidas had announced the end of their relationship. Adidas Yeezy was done.

Shoes, though, are not made immediately before their release. In the case of Yeezy — which balanced limited repeated releases with large sales volumes — this meant Adidas was left with billions of dollars in inventory of shoes branded with the name of America’s foremost antisemite.

The company considered destroying them all or donating them to the world’s poor. The former seemed needlessly wasteful. The latter seems obvious, but handing high-value, resaleable shoes to the world’s poor could create lot of negative, criminal, violent outcomes.

The conclusion then was that Adidas would sell the remaining inventory at cost. Adidas does not expect to make a profit overall, nor will Kanye West get a cut of the proceeds.

Many models are now available at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, and others at great discounts; a radical change from the scarcity of a few years ago, when these same shoes could only be purchased for hundreds above retail price on the resale market.

Some of these shoes are not worth buying, but some are gems.

The Best Buys

350 CMPCT

For years, the 350 V2 was one of America’s best-selling sneakers and understandably so. They’re inoffensive visually, have some incredible colorways, and are supremely comfortable, combining a full-length “Boost” foam midsole with a light woven upper.

The 350 CMPCT were intended to be their successor, but with worse colorways and an uglier design, it wasn’t surprising that they never got close to the same respect. However, they are regarded as some of the most comfortable shoes ever made, taking advantage of the same foam sole but combining that with a flexible, softer sock-like upper.

These retailed at $230 but are currently selling at half-price for $115 in their most wearable colorway of white, black collar, and speckled grey. There’s no more comfortable shoe you can get for the money, and they’re available in most sizes.

FOAM RNR

The other option is the all-foam clog, the FOAM RNR, which are immensely comfortable and only $90. If you don’t mind the strange look, they are ridiculously comfortable, great for the beach, and come in a wide range of colorways. I own three pairs and intend to pick up more.

The Good Buys

Though the 350 CMPCT are the only real steals that are well discounted, there are a range of great Yeezys that were once unavailable except on reselling markets and now can be bought from Adidas at MSRP.

350 V2 & 700 V1

If you can’t stand the look of the CMPCTs, the aforementioned 350 V2 are available in a range of colorways for the retail cost of $230. The easiest to wear is the all-white Static colorway, as is the case for their chunky dad-shoe-like 700s, available in the bluish-white Salt colorway along with a black and gum Utility Black.

If you are considering buying a pair of New Balances, this is a great alternative, and even if these particular colorways “sell out” on the website, expect some more to come in stock soon. The quality of the suede and mesh is worth the $260, and once again, they come with a boost-filled midsole. The 700 V3 is also on sale for $210 but these are less comfortable and have a stranger, uglier design.

500

If you’re interested in a slightly more bold design, the 500 is an odd, great-looking shoe, pairing organic, wavy curves with some pleasant natural colorways, and though they don’t have the Boost foam, they’re $210 and still very comfortable. My recommendations are either the “Supermoon Yellow” or “Blush” colorways.

DSRT BT

If you wear boots, the DSRT BT is the Yeezy choice to go for. Mostly inspired by the 500, they combine a thin, curved midsole with a mesh upper, and they’re stylish and more comfortable, taking a hiking-boot style. For practicality, go for the dark brown and black “Oil” colorway, and for city style, you can’t go wrong with the white “Salt” colorway. They’re a flat $200 but may be further discounted. Size half a size up, though.

QNTM

Finally, there are the YZY QNTM, one of Kanye’s few attempts at a basketball shoe. If you’re looking to play, the QNTM provide good grip and a nice lockdown, albeit less so than many competitors, but for a 50 percent discount of $125, the QNTM is a great value, and the “Mist Slate” colorway is elegant. They fit tight, so even for court use, I would size half up.