Before Adidas, before the Yeezy brand became a billion dollar empire, Kanye West had a deal with Nike. It didn't last long and it only produced 6 colorways across two shoes, but those releases left a mark on sneaker culture that still hasn't faded.
A lot of people forget about this era because of everything that came after it, but the Nike Yeezy run deserves its flowers. Kanye was the first non-athlete to ever get a signature shoe with Nike. That alone changed what was possible in the sneaker world.
These 6 colorways are proof of that, and here they all are ranked from worst to best...
How Kanye West Ended Up At Nike
In 2007, Kanye wasn't just making great music. He was deeply obsessed with fashion and design, and he had been sketching sneakers since he was a kid. Nike took him seriously and linked him up with Creative Director Mark Smith.
The process took nearly two years, and what came out of it was unlike anything Nike had released before. It was a high-top lifestyle sneaker pulling from the Air Jordan III, the Air Force, and the Bape Roadsta. Retailing at $215, it was the most expensive Nike on shelves at the time.
When Kanye wore the prototype at the 2008 Grammys, nobody could figure out what he had on his feet. It was his own Nike signature, and that had never happened with someone outside of sports before.
The Air Yeezy 1 dropped in three colorways in spring 2009 and all three sold out fast. Three years passed, and then the Air Yeezy 2 showed up and broke the internet all over again.
eBay pre-order bids hit $90,000 before the shoe even launched, and the demand was so out of control that Nike basically had to invent the sneaker raffle to handle it.
Things went south in 2013 though. Kanye wanted royalties, the same deal Nike had with Michael Jordan, and Nike passed. He wanted to make Yeezys available to everyone and not just a lucky few, and Nike passed again.
He signed with Adidas shortly after and most people figured the Nike chapter was closed for good. Then out of nowhere, Nike quietly dropped the Air Yeezy 2 "Red October" in February 2014 with no announcement and no campaign. It sold out in eleven minutes, even though Kanye was already gone, the shoe became a legend anyway.
6. Nike Air Yeezy 1 "Net Tan" (June 2009)
The "Net Tan" has always been the quiet one of the group. While the Zen Grey and the Blink leaned into the Air Yeezy's bold and futuristic energy, the Net Tan pulled back with tan perforated leather, a toned-down elephant print, and a softer, more fashion-forward vibe.
It feels more like something you'd see on a runway than something built to shake up sneaker culture. The craftsmanship is clean, but next to the other 5 colorways in this line-up, it just doesn't hit as hard.
Calling it the worst Nike Yeezy is still relative, though. Because it resells for over $3,000 and lands at the bottom of one of the most legendary sneaker runs ever.
5. Nike Air Yeezy 1 "Zen Grey" (April 2009)
The "Zen Grey" was the first Nike Yeezy that the public ever got their hands on, and it deserves more credit than it gets. The colorway came out of a genuine back-and-forth between Kanye and Mark Smith. The result was balanced and wearable in a way the other Yeezy 1s weren't.
Grey tones throughout, a glow-in-the-dark outsole underneath, and details that rewarded a closer look. It also proved that a non-athlete could move a $215 Nike, which was not a given at the time.
It might not be the most exciting shoe in this ranking, but it is the one that started everything.
4. Nike Air Yeezy 2 "Pure Platinum" (June 2012)
The "Pure Platinum" was one of the two colorways that introduced the world to the Air Yeezy 2. It was a totally new look for Nike. Reptile-scale texture on the upper, hieroglyphics tucked under the midfoot strap, the god Horus on the tongue, and a glow-in-the-dark Air Tech Challenge 2 outsole.
It was all wrapped in a clean grey palette that somehow made it feel wearable. It is the more restrained of the two original Yeezy 2 colorways. Further, it works kind of like the Chicago Air Jordan 1 in that it is classic and timeless without needing to shout about it.
3. Nike Air Yeezy 1 "Blink" (May 2009)
The Blink is criminally slept on and has been since it dropped. It came out a month after the Zen Grey and is the most aggressive colorway of the three Yeezy 1s by a mile.
The upper is blacked out with dark grey suede, and the 'Y' branding shows up on the strap and heel. The hot pink inner lining was also a direct nod to the neon visuals from Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour. This colorway is mostly Mark Smith's work, which is probably why it feels so tight and focused as a design.
If this exact shoe dropped tomorrow with no backstory, it would be one of the most hyped releases of the year, and the fact that it always gets overlooked is genuinely wild.
2. Nike Air Yeezy 2 "Solar Red" (June 2012)
If the "Pure Platinum" is the composed version of the Air Yeezy 2, the "Solar Red" is what happens when you turn everything up. Black snakeskin panels, a jet-black upper, and deep red accents throughout make the whole thing feel dark and intentional in a way that matched exactly where Kanye was creatively at the time.
The Yeezus era hadn't even started yet, but you can feel it in this shoe. The Solar Red is also part of sneaker retail history because it was one of the releases that made Nike realize the standard drop system couldn't handle this level of demand.
The raffle model that every brand uses today traces back in large part to this shoe. If the Red October never existed, this would be the easy number one.
1. Nike Air Yeezy 2 "Red October" (February 2014)
Nothing else comes close. The Red October is the most iconic sneaker drop of the 2010s. Kanye teased it by name on "Hold My Liquor" off Yeezus before most people had even seen a picture of it, and when he left Nike, everyone assumed the shoe was dead.
Then, on a random Tuesday in February 2014, Nike dropped 400 pairs on nike.com with zero notice and no campaign, and the internet went into full meltdown. It sold out in eleven minutes.
All-red everything, gold lace tips, and triangular studs instead of the usual snakeskin texture made it look like no Nike before it and no Nike since. It was Kanye's goodbye to the Swoosh, and current resale sits over $13,000 , which pretty much says it all.
