cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/23276653
Okay look, I'm sorry, but he was lying. Just straight up, he was full of shit. What he is describing being unable to find is called called DFMA or Private Label Manufacturing - and I'm failing to think up an industry where its more common than footwear (probably electronics). It is completely the norm in shoe manufacturing and it has been for decades.
What it sounds like is he didn't want "cheap Yeezys the kids could afford", he wanted "cheap nike Yeezys kids could afford". And while Nike will do collabs, they absolutely do not do PL/DFMA. The most charitable read is that he wanted to bring the prestigious brands to the masses and like... good fantasy, but it would have been damn near trivial for him to find someone to make the shoes for much lower prices, which begs the question why didn't he?
And, as someone with Bipolar 1 too, I can tell you that going off your meds doesn't turn you into someone with a consistent message. Individual incidents could be excused, except they're all the same thing - he's had state dinners with trump, has claimed to be a nazi, denies the holocaust and went to the fuckin' wall to defend his "brother" (no, he clarified he meant it like they were siblings) Diddy. No dude, he's been a bastard for years, and he's just had a great PR team.
There are no good billionaires, and if there were, Kanye "Bill Cosby Is Innocent!!!" ^(2015)^ West sure as hell wouldn't be one of them.