Zara is taking design cues from Yeezy Boost and sneakerheads are not happy with the giant retail store ripping off their favorite shoes.
Kanye West's Yeezy Boost footwear collection with Adidas has been enjoying brisk sales and the brand even snagged the "Shoe of the Year" Award in 2015, according to People's Stylewatch. As the coveted footwear worn by celebrities, it's not surprising to find rip-offs and fake versions of Yeezy Boost on eBay on the cheap. However, Zara's exact copy of the shoes is reportedly upsetting some Yeezy footwear enthusiasts.
The Zara knockoff was discovered by a London lifestyle fashion site, Walf, which posted a photo of the item on Instagram. The shoes look exactly like Yeezy Boost's 750 design, with the same side panels, ridges, laces, midsole and tubular profile, according to Complex.
Wear Zara, no! Wear topman, no! Wear next, no! You must wear yeezy — dukekollection (@Duke_of_thecity) January 17, 2016
Zara '16 collection is quite fashion after all. Clearly Yeezy inspired tho
— Jarjar is back. (@E2Jarj) January 15, 2016
@ZARA stop Fake Yeezy, Stop Fake Y-3, Stop Fake Balenciaga, Stop Fake Givenchy shoes. — M (@M_Dacostaaa) January 21, 2016
Kanye once spoke about admiring Zara's "creative ideas" in an interview in 2013. "I don't necessarily agree with everything that H&M and Zara does, but one thing that's good about it, is that they were able to break that idea that creativity and all of these things that you really want have to cost like a million dollars," he told Madame Noire. Yeezy Boost are averagely priced at $350 a pair, but because the footwear is sold limitedly, some hard-to-find designs are being auctioned off with high price tags.
This is not the first time Zara has reinterpreted designs for mass production to sell at more affordable prices though, as the store has been embroiled in copyright issues with other famous designers like Tom Ford, Balmain, Celine and Proenza Schouler.
