adidas and Kanye have formed something of a megastar partnership over the last few years, but the recent announcement that the household name brand will launch ‘adidas + Kanye West’ is set to take sportswear collaboration to the next level.

The adidas + Kanye West partnership will shortly see the installment of their own retail stores, selling adidas + Kanye apparel lines and accessories, as well as the introduction of a performance gym-wear line.

The sportswear giant was integral in creating Yeezy Season 1 last year, and while they have stopped their involvement in the production of Yeezy’s ‘season’ lines, the subsequent public shows continue to be pop-culture phenomenons in their own right. 

The hype that was generated around the release of Kanye’s adidas-produced Yeezy Boost 350 sneakers (which apparently sold out in 12 minutes in the US, and are now going for up to $10,000 on eBay) as well as the hotly anticipated ‘Pablo’ tour merch, was cult-like to say the least – but it has never been available to so wide an audience as adidas + Kanye products now promise to reach.

Whether this will mean no more slumming it for days on the off-chance of bagging some Yeezys, or just an increase in the hysteria, is hard to say, but what’s clear is that the Kanye-adidas relationship is ushering in the next generation of celebrity-sportswear collaboration, going way further than a capsule collection or limited edition product launch. adidas have called the teaming, “the most significant partnership ever created between an athletic brand and a non-athlete.”

But West isn’t the only musician crossing over into the field of fashion – in fact, it’s becoming quite a common occurence. Last year Rihanna staged a show at New York Fashion Week in collaboration with Puma, in March Beyoncé launched her “Ivy Park” collection with Topshop’s Philip Green, A$AP Rocky recently designed a range with J.W.Anderson, and, earlier this month, Tyler, The Creator put on a show in LA.

Watch Yeezy: the story so far below: