The black 350 V2 lost a little more of its stripe every time

By 9 Feb 2017 there were tents on Bridlesmith Gate in Nottingham, outside 18montrose. The shop wasn’t running a raffle. The new black and red Yeezy Boost 350 V2 would go first come, first served from 8am on 11 Feb. So fans camped out two days early, and PA Images photographed them in the street.

adidas Originals had announced it on 30 Jan: the 350 V2 “returns in black and red for infants and adults.” That pair’s the Bred. It’s the middle of a run where the black 350 V2 kept losing its side stripe, one piece at a time.

November 2016: three black pairs before Black Friday

“Returns” because there’d already been a black and red V2. On 23 Nov 2016, two days before Black Friday, adidas dropped three black 350 V2s at once, with the side stripe in red, green or copper. The red one is Core Black/Red/Core Black, and its stripe is a red band with SPLY-350 across it.

The Bred swapped the band for letters

The Bred took the band away. There’s no contrasting stripe at all, just SPLY-350 in red on each side. It also brought back the heel pull tab from the V1, which reviewer Brad Hall singled out. Hypebeast noted the infant sizes too, after the Turtle Dove and Pirate Black had come back in kids’ sizes.

It returned on 5 Dec 2020. Stockists worldwide ran raffles, and adidas sold it through its Confirmed app.

Onyx: nothing left on the stripe

The Onyx went the rest of the way. adidas unveiled it in June 2022 for release on 20 Jun, alongside the Bone. It’s black Primeknit with black laces, a black translucent sole and a side stripe that’s blank, with no SPLY-350 at all.

A November 2022 restock was on the calendar. It didn’t happen. adidas cut ties with Ye in late October, Yeezy sales stopped, and the Onyx sat until adidas’s first sale of leftover stock opened on 31 May 2023.

In 2017 Nottingham camped two days for red letters on a black shoe. By the Onyx, there wasn’t anything left on the side to read.