FLOAT 100 · Sneakers · No. 97
adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 'Zebra'
In February 2017 a striped knit sneaker with a backward-looking red word on its side sold out in minutes at a handful of stores; over the next six years adidas kept bringing it back, and the 'Zebra' became the Yeezy almost everyone can picture.
- Year
- 2017
- Maker
- adidas
- By price in sneakers
- 93 of 100
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Create a free account- Shoe
- adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 'Zebra,' style CP9654, colorway White/Core Black/Red
- Designer
- Kanye West, under his partnership with adidas announced December 3, 2013
- First release
- February 25, 2017
- Retail price
- $220 in 2017 and 2018; $230 for adult pairs in the May 2023 restock
- Upper
- White and black striped Primeknit with red 'SPLY-350' text on the side stripe
- Sole
- Full-length Boost cushioning wrapped in a TPU midsole
- Initial allocation
- Reported at 70 to 80 pairs per store at four U.S. adidas locations, plus in-store raffles at mall chains
- Restocks
- June 24, 2017; November 9 and 16, 2018; May 31, 2023, all under the same style code
The second act of the 350
The first Yeezy Boost 350 came out on June 27, 2015, a low knit runner that turned Kanye West's adidas line into the hottest thing in sneakers. Its successor, the 350 V2, arrived on September 24, 2016, in the gray-and-orange 'Beluga' colorway. The V2 kept the knit upper and full-length Boost cushioning and added a stripe across the side carrying the text 'SPLY-350.'
The 'Zebra' was the second Yeezy Boost release of 2017, following a black-and-red 350 V2 that had launched a week earlier, according to a contemporary release report. It took its name from the upper: white and black Primeknit woven into irregular stripes, with a white side stripe and the 'SPLY-350' lettering in bright red. Red stitching on the heel pull tab tied the color in from the back.
Release coverage at the time described it as a slip-on construction with a TPU-wrapped Boost midsole, priced at $220 under style code CP9654.
February 2017: a release built on scarcity
The first drop on February 25, 2017, was small. A report published nine days before the release, citing the leak account Yeezy Mafia, said pairs would go to only four U.S. adidas locations, among them stores in Los Angeles, Aventura Mall and SoHo, at roughly 70 to 80 pairs per store, with the mall chains holding in-store raffles. Other release coverage referred more broadly to global retailers, so the exact distribution is not settled in contemporary reporting.
Either way, the shoe sold out immediately. By June 2017, a national sneaker outlet reported resale prices of $1,500 to $2,000 depending on size, and another said resale had 'reached upwards of $1,000.' Coverage called the Zebra one of the more limited designs West had made with adidas to that point.
It was a busy season for the country. Super Bowl LI on February 5 was the first to go to overtime, and the night after the Zebra dropped, Moonlight won Best Picture at the Academy Awards after an envelope mix-up first named La La Land.
From the scarcest Yeezy to the most familiar
Scarcity did not last. In June 2017, adidas swapped a planned 'Dark Green' 350 V2 release for a Zebra restock on Saturday, June 24, with reservations taken through the adidas Confirmed app starting June 21. The shoe returned at the same $220 price.
A second restock followed in November 2018. Pairs were scheduled worldwide for November 9, but most U.S. stockists hit shipping delays, so many American stores released on November 16 instead, while Europe, Asia and select adidas Originals stores in the United States kept the original date. A resale analysis published the day of the U.S. drop found resale value down 43.29% year over year, which it blamed on larger production numbers.
The last chapter came after adidas ended its partnership with West on October 25, 2022, over his antisemitic statements. Facing a warehouse of finished Yeezy product, adidas began selling it in 2023, with part of the proceeds going to organizations fighting hate and West still receiving 15% of sales, according to a report at the time. The Zebra returned on May 31, 2023, through adidas.com and the Confirmed app, in full-family sizing for the first time: $230 for men's sizes, $160 for grade school and $140 for toddlers.
Because every release used the same CP9654 code, resellers today list 2017 through 2023 pairs together. On October 3, 2026, the lowest listing at a U.S. sneaker shop started at $210, with most sizes higher.
How to identify a Zebra
The basics: a white and black striped Primeknit upper, a white side stripe with 'SPLY-350' in red, red stitching on the heel pull tab, and a translucent-looking TPU midsole over full-length Boost. The style code is CP9654 and the colorway is listed as White/Core Black/Red (FTWRWHT/CBLACK/RED).
Pairs from 2017, 2018 and 2023 share the code, so the box label, size run and purchase record are the practical way to tell a release apart. The 2023 restock was the first to include grade school and toddler sizes.
Why it lasts
The Yeezy line became, in Forbes's phrase quoted on Wikipedia, 'one of the great retail stories of the century,' reaching nearly $1.7 billion in revenue in 2020. The Zebra sits at the center of that story: it began as one of the hardest Yeezys to buy and, through repeated restocks, became one of the easiest to recognize.
Coverage of its final restock called it frequently cited as the most recognizable Yeezy model. That tension, a shoe that was once nearly impossible to get and is now widely owned, is exactly what makes it a touchstone for the 2010s sneaker boom.
The numbers
- Release date
- February 25, 2017
- Retail price
- $220 (2017, 2018); $230 men's, $160 grade school, $140 toddler (2023)
- Style code
- CP9654
- Colorway
- White/Core Black/Red
- Initial allocation
- About 70 to 80 pairs per store at four U.S. adidas locations, per a pre-release leak report
- Restock dates
- June 24, 2017; November 9, 2018 (U.S. delayed to November 16); May 31, 2023
- Total production
- Not stated in available sources
Timeline
Kanye West's partnership with adidas is announced.
The original Yeezy Boost 350 releases.
The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 debuts in the 'Beluga' colorway.
Release details for the 'Zebra,' style CP9654 at $220, are reported.
A leak account reports a small U.S. allocation of about 70 to 80 pairs per store.
The 'Zebra' releases and sells out immediately.
adidas opens Confirmed app reservations for a Zebra restock.
The first restock takes the release slot planned for the 'Dark Green' 350 V2.
A global restock releases; many U.S. stores are delayed by shipping problems.
Delayed U.S. stores release the restock.
adidas ends its partnership with West.
adidas and West reach a deal to sell the remaining Yeezy inventory.
The Zebra restocks again at $230, in full-family sizing for the first time.
The world in 2017
Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president.
The Women's March draws an estimated 2.9 million people across the country.
The Patriots beat the Falcons 34-28 in Super Bowl LI, the first Super Bowl decided in overtime.
NASA announces seven Earth-sized planets around the star TRAPPIST-1.
Moonlight wins Best Picture after La La Land is mistakenly announced.
Rock pioneer Chuck Berry dies at 90.
The U.S. launches 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | $210 | Asking price, not a saleLowest listing at a U.S. sneaker shop for CP9654; the listing combines 2017 through 2023 pairs, and prices vary by size. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 'Zebra' is number 93 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (97 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The Zebra's June 2017 restock took the release date that had been planned for a dark green 350 V2.
- Within four months of release, resale prices of $1,500 to $2,000 were reported, against a $220 retail price.
- After the November 2018 restock, one resale analysis found the shoe had lost 43.29% of its resale value in a year.
- The May 2023 restock was the first time the Zebra came in toddler and grade-school sizes, and it happened after adidas had already cut ties with West.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026