Kanye West (Ye) is officially back. Well, kind of, if you don’t count all the cries for cancellation and all the brands that continue to refuse to work with him. But he’s back doing his thing again, which includes sold-out concerts, music and, of course, new Yeezy products. Except there’s no adidas behind the brand this time. He’s still flying solo, delivering fashionable clothing, shoes and sneakers (when they arrive, of course). In 2026, we’ve already heard rumors of a new boot line coming. But before that, it looks like we can expect a new shoe from the Yzy brand: the Yeezy AQ-01.
This week, everyone who signed up for the Yzy newsletter received a mysterious email: just plain black text “AQ-01 04.24.26” over white. If you click the link, it takes you to a blank page on their website requesting your number and your email address. There’s no big reveal of what’s dropping just yet.
Except, we already sort of know what the Yeezy AQ-01 is.
After Kanye’s fallout with adidas, there were plenty of leaks online that showed some of the designs they had for future releases, including one foam sneaker called the Aqua50. Like the Foam RNNR, it was a one-piece build shoe with smooth curves and was very minimalistic.
The notes attached to that sample, which was a work in progress at the time, included some details that Kanye wanted to see changed. He loved the color but wanted to tweak the design by adding perforations and simplifying the outsole. Basically, they were all small changes and nothing that big.
The AQ-01 appears to be a development of that design, or at least that’s what the rumors online suggest
Kanye has had relative success with new drops in the last few years. The Yeezy Pods didn’t become a big hit. The YZY BL-01 is really only making its way to buyers now. And then, of course, he recently dropped Yeezy slides again (in some new colors) without the adidas branding at a reduced price.
Will the Yeezy AQ-01 be his big comeback shoe? We’re not sure, but given the buzz around Kanye West again, and his brand, and all the hype on social media about this release, it could be a huge comeback for Ye.
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