Image via Complex Original
The moment is finally here: Yeezy Season 1 is hitting stores tomorrow.
With the hype that accompanies a collection like this, you can expect plenty of obstacles and competition in trying to cop the first ever Yeezy Season apparel. A series of leaks, price previews, and editorials have made this the undisputed champ of hotly anticipated collections, and people are going to move mountains to get a piece of it. No matter how you feel about the collection's prices, there's no doubt it's going to go faster than your run-of-the-mill Supreme Thursday drop. To cue up for the surefire pandemonium, we put together a handy guide of everything you need to know if you're trying to start Yeezy Season 1 with a win.
These Are the Stores That Will Be Stocking Season 1
Let's start this off with the most important thing: the actual stores where you can cop the goods. Luckily, we were blessed by the Three Stripes this morning with a stockist list that provides plenty of options for getting your mitts on the first Kanye West x adidas collaborative apparel. If you're trying to start Yeezy Szn off with a bang, make sure you have stores like Barneys New York, Colette, End., Kith, Mr Porter, Notre, Opening Ceremony, and RSVP Gallery (just to name a few).
We hope you've been saving, because Kanye West's Yeezy Season 1 apparel drop is almost here. The anticipated collection hits stores tomorrow, and we have the full list of where you can cop the gear—while it lasts.
One thing that jumps off the page pretty immediately is the high-end nature of most of these shops, which brings us to our next point...
What We Know About Pricing
To put it nicely, a lot of this gear is on an aspirational price level. Price leaks kicked off with HighSnobiety's revealing just how expensive Season 1 was going to be, and were confirmed with a SENSE magazine editorial and a feature in GQ starring The Weeknd that included item pricing.
When the goods drop tomorrow, shoppers should expect pieces like sweatshirts and hoodies to clock in around $400 to $545, with pants landing in the same range. Tank tops will sell for $180 and T-shirts have been marked around $200, with knitwear hitting anywhere from $800 to a few thousand. Men's outerwear, which includes everything from vests to parkas, will go up to nearly $4,000, if not higher. Unisex pieces, which includes everything from thermal tees to long shearling coats, spans from $340 to $4550 respectively. If you're looking to cop some accessories from the collection, you'll be putting down anywhere from $585 (for the leather backpack) to $1,040 (for the leather weekender). The Yeezy 950 boot will cost trill duck boot fans $585.
A leak from Barneys New York has shown what that retailer is pricing the collection at, with pieces like the nylon bomber going for $2,080; the camo T-shirt retailing at $235; and the "kangaroo pocket" hoodie going for $600. Take a look at the leaked prices below:
Basically, start hitting up anyone who owes you money ASAP.
What to Keep in Mind About Sizing
The sizing for this collection is kind of all over the place. The Weeknd was styled in pieces that fit pretty true to size, including thermal shirts, hoodies, most of the outerwear, and bottoms. But one look at the runway show back in February sends a pretty clear signal that the designer envisioned a lot of the men's portion of the collection to be worn oversized, complete with extremely drapey hemlines, extended sleeves, and droopy pants.
Make sure you have a good sense beforehand of whether you want to wear this stuff with a somewhat normal fit, or draped out like a post-apocalyptic desert warrior. It's a pretty safe bet to go in assuming that a lot of this gear is going to run large, so keep an eye out on a webshop's sizing guide and notes on what the model is wearing. If you're lucky enough to encounter this stuff IRL in the wild, make sure you hit the dressing room before dropping a semester's worth of tuition on Season 1.
These Are the Standout Pieces
We can't speak for everyone, but there's little doubt that the destroyed military sweater—which we saw on Fetty Wap—hoodies, and much of the camo outerwear is going to fly off the shelves. The Yeezy 950 boot will likely be gone before you can enter your shipping address, as well as the more "affordable" options. The knits and hiked-up sweatpants have been prominent in editorials and on Kanye, so expect those to ghost too.
Normally we'd assume that pricing of standout pieces would affect the quickness of things selling out, but we know better than to doubt the power of Yeezy. Which reminds us…
What Previous Kanye Collabs Have Taught Us
Remember the A.P.C. Kanye collaborations? Outside of footwear, those are West's most relevant and popular apparel projects, and they should be able to shed some light on what's heading our way tomorrow. The prices for the A.P.C. Kanye collections varied slightly, but in the final iteration the prices varied from a white tee that cost $90 to a fur-lined parka that hit around $2,800. Regardless at people's flabbergasted reactions to the prices, most of the pieces—especially the $265 “Work Shirt” and the $340 “Airport Sweater”—sold out insanely fast. The power of the Yeezy banner is undeniable.
Adding in things like off-the-charts anticipation and a year-long hype cycle, we're expecting Yeezy Season 1 to sell as fast—if not faster—than Yeezy's previous A.P.C. collabs. Oh, and considering the fact that bootleg versions hit the market shortly after an initial sell through at A.P.C., you can expect plenty of knock-offs after Yeezy Season 1's initial release.
Advice on Pulling the Trigger
Like any successful Supreme shopper will tell you, the first rule of shopping online is to have your credit card information on hand, either written elsewhere to copy and paste when checking out, or saved through your web browser. As mentioned before, there's little doubt that this collection is going to gather any dust, and if you're trying to cop a piece on the more affordable end of the pricing spectrum, you can without a doubt assume that those will be the first pieces to go.
Think about it: for all the slander that's been tossed at Yeezy Season 1 and Kanye West, you know those are the very first people to snag a slice of the collection. Again, know what you want before the gates open. Review the entire collection, pick out what you're gunning for, and make a decision on what sizing to get before it's go time.
To wear or to resell—it doesn't matter—the simple fact is that if it's not in your cart, it's in someone else's. Be informed, act fast, and make your decisions confidently. But if you hit nothing but dead ends, all is not lost...
Don't Worry, There Are Affordable Alternatives
All the above being said, the fact of the matter is Yeezy Season 1 has some very clear inspirations. Aside from explaining his influences in a number of post-presentation interviews, it's clear that West was drawing from a blend of military and workwear influences—not to mention a dizzying number of products that you could cop at your local Army/Navy outfitter. But before you make the trek out to your local surplus shop, we've gone ahead and done most of the work for you. Win or lose tomorrow, it's not too hard to try and participate in Yeezy Season 1…even if it doesn't say “YEEZY” on the tag.
And hey, there's always Season 2.
