Nike Air Yeezy 1 Sneakers
Colorway: Zen Grey/Light Charcoal · Style code: 366164-002 · Release date: April 4, 2009 · Price: $4371 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Air Yeezy 'Blink' (366164-003) · Nike Air Yeezy 'Net' (366164-111) · Nike Air Force 1 'Yeezy' (488298-048) · Nike Air Max 1 FB 'Yeezy' (579920-066)
Nike had never given a signature shoe to someone who did not play a sport. West got one, and the reveal was a performance rather than an announcement: he appeared at the 2008 Grammy ceremony in an all-black suede sample nobody had seen, and the collaboration became public that night.
The shoe behind it had been in development since 2007, worked on by Nike creative director Mark Smith with West and later Nathan Van Hook. Smith described West as a natural designer; West described Smith as the reason the thing got built. Three colorways followed in 2009, all at $215, all gone almost immediately.
Zen Grey was the first out and the most evenly divided between the two authors. It works in muted greys and charcoals with brighter accents dropped in at specific points, sets a patent leather strap across the midfoot in a texture that catches light differently from everything around it, and wraps the toe in premium suede. The outsole looks unremarkable in daylight and glows green in the dark.
The pair West wore at the Grammys sold at auction in 2021 for $1.8 million, the first sneakers to pass a million dollars.