It didn’t take long before Kanye got his hands on the Ultra Boost during New York Fashion Week, and the sneaker started to pick up some momentum. Yeezy sporting the all-white Ultra Boosts and image of him flying across the stage at a Powerhouse 106 concert in Los Angeles was the hero shot the brand had been waiting for. The image went viral and retailers cashed in on the co-sign. Early adopters were annoyed by the hyperbole, but it was all part of the master plan: Get the most influential style icon signed to your brand photographed wearing your key releases, and watch the money pile up. As Jon Wexler, the Global Director of Entertainment and Influencer Marketing at adidas, has stated in various interviews—​and Kanye has in one of his greatest songs: You can’t really tell him nothin’. Meaning, there was no deal to get him to wear X, Y, and Z before he debuted his own shoes. It was all organic. Just as much as Kanye wore his own signature sneakers with adidas, he also favored a running shoe that has had just as much impact in the industry as his own Yeezy Boost.

And what kicked off as a game-changing running shoe turned into the hottest lifestyle look in the streets. Whether that was ever the intention or not, adidas’ plans to seems to have worked out just fine. Adidas really needed a sneaker that was capable of looking as dope with an over-sized crewneck and jeans as much as it would with head-to-toe Climacool workout gear.