We’d like to start today’s article off by apologizing for the blurry lead image. We wouldn’t usually post an image with quality that poor, but this is a special circumstance. This is Kanye West’s new Calabasas Runner, unveiled at his Yeezy Season 5 fashion show yesterday, and it’s currently the talk of the sneaker world.
A quick background on the sneaker for those of you who might not be familiar: the Calabasas Runner was originally unveiled (unofficially) back in January 2016 when Kanye was spotted wearing a pair in a white/teal/orange/black colorway while leaving his office in … Calabasas. An all-black colorway and a white/teal pair were revealed in the fashion show yesterday, and images of a white/gum colorway (that wasn’t included in the show) have been making the rounds on the Internet as well.
What do we think of the shoe? Well, it’s hard to really pass a solid judgement on it just yet, as there aren’t any clear, official images that really show what it looks like (the picture directly above is about as good as it’s gonna get), but our initial response is fairly favorable.
From a business standpoint, adidas has been doubling down on both their classic models and updated versions of their classic models recently, so having Kanye work a shoe of this style into his latest season makes a lot of sense for both parties.
From an aesthetics standpoint? They’re solid. They’re a chunky retro-style running shoe, so anyone who likes Raf Simmons’s adidas collabs, New Balance, Saucony, or any other heritage-style running sneakers will probably be on board with them. Plus, the Kanye co-sign is powerful. People will buy just about anything with his name on it … so you already know these are going to be a hot ticket when they release. We’ll have to stay tuned for clearer images, more potential colorways, price points, and release dates, but we do know one thing as of now… because of these, nobody will ever make fun of us for wearing Air Monarchs ever again.
What do you think of Kanye West’s Calabasas Runners? Are you a fan, or does the retro-runner style not do it for you? Hit us up and let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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