Is Yeezy getting outmoded? In 2019, the fame of Kanye's sneaker was eclipsed by Travis Scott's

Kanye West has practically invented the collaboration sneakers as we know them. His Jasper Sneakers co-signed with Louis Vuitton in 2009 are among the most expensive in the entire resell landscape, followed by some models from his Air Yeezy collections for Nike. Kanye, however, took a step beyond the collaborations by founding Yeezy in 2015 and started an operation that, with its ups and downs, started from music and fashion to expand to all fields of creativity to become one of the most recognizable and ubiquitous names on the contemporary cultural scene. His dominance seemed unchallenged at least until Nike and Travis Scott started their own partnership – a partnership that in a short time led Scott to become one of the most influential figures in the sneaker game, rivalling in visibility and virality with the Yeezy's production, which in 2019 appeared weak.

It must be said, however, that despite design considerations and commercial data, Kanye remained the most credible "designer" of the two. Yeezy, regarded as a brand in its own right, was one of the cornerstones of modern sneaker culture and one of the brands that has been able to carve out a space on a scene usually foreclosed to new players, but which at the same time has been eclipsed by the hype raised by Travis Scott.  And although, between the Yeezy Clog and Slide, this year's production has been less relevant than that of the past, Kanye has still worked within a universe and an aesthetic that has spent the last five years cultivating while, although much more popular, the Travis Scott's sneakers haven't brought any major design innovation. It remains to be seen whether, in the case of the sneakers signed by Scott, the hype is the first sign of an actual cultural weight or just a reflection of a passing fame (although his recent inclusion in the lookbook of the collaboration between Nike and Dior suggests otherwise) and if this will be able to match Kanye West's work in importance. As in many other issues, the ultimate test will be that of time.