Kanye West's Favorite Sneakers: A Year-by-Year Breakdown

Ever since Kanye West exploded onto the scene as a solo artist pushing his College Dropout album, he has been known for his sense of style and his sick shoe game. It's hard to believe Yeezy is a 10-year veteran and arguably one of the biggest hype machines of our generation. Whatever Kanye rocks, people immediately jump online to duplicate the style — act like it isn't you, but we already know. With a third colorway of his second Nike signature shoe set to drop later this year and his new album appropriately titled Yeezus, hitting shelves soon — it only seemed right to do a breakdown of Mr. West's style. Hit the jump to check out Kanye West's Favorite Sneakers: A Year-by-Year Breakdown.

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Year: 2003

The Air Max 90 arrived when Air Max technology was fairly new to the game and it was Kanye's go-to shoe when he was new to the game too. Building off of the success of the previous two models, the 90 was designed with a breathable mesh and multi-lacing system for added comfort. The perfect shoe for 'Ye's pre-Dropout preppy style to match with his track jackets and Paper Denim jeans.

Year: 2004

Kanye didn't wait until he got his money right, as soon as The College Dropout dropped, 'Ye immediately started spending his checks on Japanese fashion, helping bring the AF1-influenced A Bathing Ape kicks to American culture.

Year: 2005

When Kanye started showing up to Fashion Week shows in 2012, sitting front row in all-white Vans, it wasn't the first time. As 'Ye's style evolved around the time of Late Registration he went with the clean Vans Sk-8 Hi to pair with his assortment of classic jackets and polos when he had gigs.

Year: 2006

For the first few years, Kanye West's urban-prep attire was the look. Yeey's love for runners has always been prominent since his first days on TRL and BET — in '06 Kanye's go-to shoe was the classic Nike Air Max. Nothing crazy, not special releases, just consistent changes of colorways to match whatever shirt he rocked. Even on the red carpet, Kanye's casual was better than anything other celeb's stylist could put together.

Year: 2007

The Graduation era was symbolic for various reasons, Kanye went from everyday shit to sneakers you couldn't find starting with Ato Matsumotos during Summer Jam. Five years later we are still hunting for a pair, don't feel bad.

Year: 2008

The prototype Air Yeezy surfaced first, and then during an energetic and emotional performance of “Stronger” and “Hey Mama” at the 2009 Grammys, sneakerheads caught a glimpse of a sample all-black version of Kanye’s first signature shoe. If you were fortunate enough to catch Kanye’s Glow in the Dark Tour back in ’08 the original Nike Air Yeezy prototype was a staple in his concert uniform. The blogs caught on quick, but we had no clue how much transformation the shoe would go through before the final version hit retail. The prototype was just as sick as the ones we actually got to rock and Kanye stunted on us all for a full year.

Year: 2009

Who needs strategic marketing moves? As soon as everyone knew Kanye had aligned with The Swoosh, the expectations were too much already. The fact that Kanye rocked all three colors non-stop for the spring and summer gave you a feeling that he stood behind his work and the thousand(s) you spent was well worth it.

Year: 2010

Even though his Louis Vuitton Don high-end collab dropped the year before, it was his intro to "Runaway" a year later and his concerts with Jay and Shady in the red suit that stood out more than any twisted fantasy.

Year: 2011

The debut of the biggest shoe of our existence isn't enough?

Year: 2012

Even with his second signature shoe continuing to cause mass hysteria, Kanye appeared wearing MJ's first signature sneaker often throughout 2012. The Yeezy might have jumped the Jumpman, but sometimes the classics reign supreme.