Kanye West Says Nike Can Retro the Air Yeezys

In a new interview with GQ, Kanye West says Nike can retro his Air Yeezy sneakers. Read more from the interview with the Yeezy founder here.

Nike Air Yeezy 2
Complex Original

All sneakers courtesy of Flight Club. Photo by Complex/David Cabrera

Nike Air Yeezy 2

Ever since leaving Nike in 2013, Kanye West's relationship with the brand has been rocky to say the least, but it sounds as though the head of the Yeezy empire may be relenting on his anti-Swoosh stance.

In a four-part interview with GQ for the publication's May cover story, West continues to detail his plans for manufacturing in Cody, Wyoming, elaborates on his faith, and even manages to squeeze in some sneaker talk. When asked about the inspiration behind his Yeezy QNTM basketball sneaker, West is reluctant to peel back the curtain ("I'm not going to give the exact codes of how we got there, he says. "I got kids! There's pain that comes with those codes.") But when it comes to Nike potentially re-releasing his Air Yeezy 1 and Air Yeezy 2 models, West has a surprisingly positive take.

"Man, I'm with everything," he says when asked if Nike could retro the sneakers. "Man, anything that the kids want and the people want. People should be able to have what they want."

Prior to this, little has been known on West's outlook of Nike possibly re-releasing the designs. Should the Swoosh at some point decide to move forward with a retro, it's more or less a given that the shoes will be renamed. In 2016, the brand released a Yeezy-esque sneaker dubbed the Air Entertainer, a move many deemed to be a direct reference to West.