Kanye West Appoints Steven Smith Head of Donda Industrial Design
YeĀ announced today the appointment ofĀ veteran sneaker designer Steven SmithĀ as the head of Donda industrial design. Smith has been a close collaborator with the artist for years, executing Kanye Westās vision in footwear via the Adidas Yeezy line.
Smith, who previously held the title of executive designer for Yeezy, started working with West on footwear in 2016. His earliest projects in the Adidas Yeezy line included the Yeezy Boost 700 and the Yeezy Powerphase.
In his new position, Smith will expand beyond footwear to work on furniture, vehicles, and more within the West empire. A release issued by Westās creative company Donda announcing Smithās role features a portfolio of his sneaker designs (which appear below) and a concept for something called the Donda Foam Vehicle.
āIām honored to help create our shared vision of the future,ā Smith said in a statement to Complex. āMr. West is the singleĀ most inspiring creative I have ever worked with.ā
Smithās long career has spanned almost as many decadesĀ as it has brands. Heās worked on iconic silhouettes for a number of different sneaker companies, from the New Balance 574 to the Reebok Insta Pump Fury. SmithĀ started as a designer at New Balance in 1986, left for Adidas in 1988, and then moved on to Reebok in 1989, spending eight years there. He did a two-year stint at Fila before landing at Nike, where he worked from 1999 to 2009. In the next decade, he worked for Adidas again, this time as a freelancer, and briefly for Keen before connecting with West.
Itās unclear how Smithās appointment at Donda will affect his and Westās relationship with Adidas, which has been recently contentious. The announcement today comes after West blasted Adidas on Instagram last month, calling out his biggest brand partner and accusing it ofĀ knocking off his Yeezy designs. Westās long-term partnership with Adidas has been successful, but heās occasionally been critical of the brand in public statements.
The fresh title for Smith could be indicative of a growing rift between Adidas and West, the latter shuffling his product team to be less aligned with the sneaker brand going forward. Donda did not offer any clarity on what kind of organizational change Smithās new job involves with respect to Yeās Adidas deal, but Donda is an entity totally separate of Adidas.
Adidas did not respondĀ to a request forĀ comment on Smithās new role.
UPDATE 7/6:Ā An Adidas spokesperson has provided the following statement:Ā āAdidas works with different creative minds based on what is best for our business and partners. As part of our collaborative relationship with Ye, Steven Smith worked on the Adidas Yeezy line at Yeās request. As the business has evolved, Steven has accepted a full-time role as head of Donda industrial design, where we look forward to continuing to work together.ā