Sneaker Anatomy - YEEZY Calabasas Runner

YEEZY Calabasas Runners were the most anticipated sneakers in early 2017. The Internet has gone crazy since the day Kanye West was snapped wearing them out of his Calabasas office in California. After that sneaky preview, the world started guessing what they could have been and when they would have come out.
Now the mystery is solved. They were unveiled during YEEZY Season 5 show in various colorways. The sneaker presents clunky shape and quite unbalanced proportion with the sole taking over the whole shoe. The midsole is maybe the most interesting detail of this sneakers with its wavy-modeled shape and its colored details that break into the white wavy pattern. The upper presents an asymmetric and unusual paneling. Sole and upper put together give this sneaker a quite unique look. That's more likely the reason why for its very first appearance these sneakers found their way into everyone's mind. But where do these sneakers come from? Let's discover our list of probable references.

#1 adidas Vintage Silverstar and Rusher

Between the 70's and the 80's, a lot of new silhouette solutions were experimented by adidas. These two vintage models are maybe the first example of sneaker designs that started to lose the balance between upper and sole. In these sneakers, sole had been exaggerated on purpose, in order to make a shoe that could look really different from what people used to those days. 

#2 Nike Air Monarch

It could sound strange, but the most resembling shoe in terms of proportions and silhouette to the new Calabasas sneakers is actually from Nike. Of course, big sneaker developing companies always influenced one each other. By the way, a quick look is sufficient to understand that this could be a real reference to KW and his team during the design process. Especially for what concerns the shape of the midsole and the outlook of the sneaker itself.

#3 adidas Temper Run

These sneakers were maybe the main adidas reference to the Calabasas runners. adidas Temper Run have born with the idea of mixing technical details with a strong 90's vintage look. The peculiar shape of the sole- that also could have inspired YEEZY Calabasas one- was due to the ADIPRENE with midfoot Torsion bar; selected for its incredible capacity of shock absorption and comfort. Also, this particular colorway is maybe the one that has inspired the very first cw of Calabasas runners we have seen.