Forbes Magazine’s “The Celebrity 100” issue ranks the world’s 100 top-earning entertainers every year. Kanye West made the list at number 3 this year, mostly off of the strength of his successful YEEZY line with adidas. The magazine ran a cover story with Kanye West for their Celebrity 100 issue, providing details on how the adidas x YEEZY partnership grew into a billion dollar empire.
Kanye shared his creative process behind his YEEZY shoes. According to West, it all starts with a sketch, or a vintage reference, or a previous shoe that is being updated. West shares the story of seeing the anime film Akira as a child and being inspired by the shapes, the color palettes, and the general mood of the film. He also shares the story of going to auto shows with his father and seeing a white Lamborghini Countach in real life.
Kanye shares these stories with Forbes’ Zack O’Malley Greenburg while out in the parking lot behind Kanye’s office. In this parking lot, Kanye and his team laid out around a thousand of YEEZY prototypes, including variants of the popular 350s and the unreleased Yeezy basketball shoe. Never before seen silhouettes are mixed in with prototypes of the YEEZY Powerphase, the YEEZY 451, YEEZY Slides, and more. Watch the Forbes video below and scroll down for additional screen caps.
