Kanye West registers trademark for Yeezy sock shoes… after Adidas announced it would sell the remaining Yeezy shoes and donate the proceeds to charity
- The new product is referred to as “YZY SOCK SHOES” in the documentation
- West wore something similar back in 2019
- He would find it difficult to find a retailer due to his recent anti-Semitic comments
Kanye West appears to be trying to get back into the shoe business after Adidas severed ties with him last year over a spate of anti-Semitic remarks.
The 45-year-old disgraced rapper has filed the brand for new Yeezy Sock Shoes, TMZ reported on Friday.
The documents were filed by West’s Mascotte Holdings Inc. on May 4 and the product was listed as “YZY SOCK SHOES”.
The forms reportedly included few details about what the sock shoes would look like, despite being labeled “socks; Socks with leather soles.
West seems to be moving forward, even though his old partner Adidas has announced it will sell the remaining stock of Yeezy shoes – without its branding – and then donate the proceeds to charity.
New company: Kanye West, 45, has filed the Yeezy Sock Shoes trademark, according to documents obtained by TMZ on Friday; seen in Beverly Hills in February 2020
Long in the works: West was spotted wearing what may be an early version of the design back in 2019. They were called “socks; Socks with leather soles
Although he’s only now attempting to trademark the design, it appears to have been in the works for years.
TMZ shared a 2019 photo of the Monster rapper in what appear to be gray socks.
They appeared more stable than a high-top shoe and apparently also had 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 handy design he had lying around years ago.
Even if West gets his trademark, it’s unclear how he would sell the sock shoes after Adidas ended ties with him.
After a series of racist and anti-Semitic remarks and his run-in with white supremacists and alt-right figures, including Nick Fuentes and Milo Yiannopoulos, many retailers would be reluctant to stock products associated with him.
West might also try to sell them through his own Yeezy label, but he might have trouble finding someone to even make the socks.
Though his public appearance is at an all-time low, the rapper and producer continues to press ahead with his 2024 presidential campaign, even though his organization still goes by the Kanye 2020 name after the last election.
Earlier this week it was reported that his campaign treasurer had resigned.
Cancelled: Due to his recent anti-Semitic remarks, West would have a hard time getting anyone to sell the shoes – or even make them; seen in LA in 2015
Distress Sale: Adidas has announced it will sell a portion of its remaining Yeezys inventory 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 one sent to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Monday.
Krason claimed in his letter that he learned of a “potentially serious criminal transaction” related to the Kanye 2020 campaign and said Yiannopoulos “submitted counterfeit bills and expenses that would be considered unlawful.”
Those transactions were reportedly made in November 2022, before Krason assumed the role of treasurer.
He went on to claim there was too much “personal animosity” for a professional relationship with Yiannopoulos – whose emails to Fuentes, a known white supremacist, and Alexander were also leaked by TMZ.