The first sneaker Kanye West designed for Nike was the Air Yeezy, released in 2009.
The Nike Air Yeezy grew from a design partnership between West, Nike creative director Mark Smith and designer Nathan VanHook. Development ran from 2007 to 2009, with West contributing ideas shaped by basketball footwear, fashion and his own performance style.
The project was notable because it was Nike’s first major full collaboration with a non-athlete. Before release, West wore an early black sample during his 2008 Grammy Awards performance, generating intense speculation. The production shoe arrived in three main colorways: Zen Grey on April 4, Black/Pink on May 4 and Net on June 1, each priced at $215.
The Air Yeezy is often confused with the Air Yeezy II, but that was the follow-up model, released in 2012, with a later Red October version in 2014. West eventually moved his Yeezy partnership to Adidas, but the original Nike Air Yeezy established the sneaker line.