Kanye West Appoints Steven Smith Head of Donda Industrial Design
YeΒ announced today the appointment ofΒ veteran sneaker designer Steven SmithΒ as the head of Donda industrial design. Smith has been a close collaborator with the artist for years, executing Kanye Westβs 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 Westβs creative company Donda announcing Smithβs role features a portfolio of his sneaker designs (which appear below) and a concept for something called the Donda Foam Vehicle.
βIβm honored to help create our shared vision of the future,β Smith said in a statement to Complex. βMr. West is the singleΒ most inspiring creative I have ever worked with.β
Smithβs long career has spanned almost as many decadesΒ as it has brands. Heβs worked on iconic silhouettes for a number of different sneaker companies, from the New Balance 574 to the Reebok Insta Pump Fury. SmithΒ 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.
Itβs unclear how Smithβs appointment at Donda will affect his and Westβs 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 ofΒ knocking off his Yeezy designs. Westβs long-term partnership with Adidas has been successful, but heβs 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 Smithβs new job involves with respect to Yeβs Adidas deal, but Donda is an entity totally separate of Adidas.
Adidas did not respondΒ to a request forΒ comment on Smithβs new role.
UPDATE 7/6:Β An Adidas spokesperson has provided the following statement:Β βAdidas 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 Yeβs 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.β