Nike Imitates Kanye West’s Yeezy MX Colors On The Calm Slide

The Kanye influence is real.

Sneaker News February 6th, 2024 (updated)

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Updated February 6th, 2024: Official images of an additional colorway have surfaced via Nike US. No release date has been attached to this new pair.

Since Kanye West and the YEEZY delivered the first batch of Yeezy Slides in late 2019, the casual footwear game was never the same. The foam-based shoes sparked a new era of wearing flip-flops as fashionable items, eventually making the Yeezy Slide one of the most sought after shoes on the market while padding pockets of resellers around the globe. While Nike was hardly new to the Slide market, they never delivered anything as clean-cut like the Nike Calm Slide. Recognized for their monochromatic color options and un-detailed aesthetic, the Calms were quickly compared to Kanye’s creation — and rightfully so.

Determining whether or not the Swoosh took inspiration from Kanye (again) can’t exactly be proven, but there’s no defending what we’re seeing here. The Calm Slide has emerged in its first polychromatic styles that are shockingly similar to what we’ve seen in the “MX” series of colorways from the Yeezy Foam Runner. While we’ve yet to see Yeezy MX Slides, samples did surface back in 2021 and they were expected to be brought to market before adidas cut ties with ‘Ye over his anti-semitic rants on social media.

Thus far, we’ve seen a black/grey and multi-red version of the MX Calm Slides appear, with more likely on the way. And if you think this is the first time Nike has attempted to mimic Kanye’s work in his post-Nike era, may we remind you of the onslaught of black/pink/mint and all-red colorways that fortuitously appeared on Nike’s GR product in the years that followed his departure.