FLOAT 100 · Sneakers · No. 91
Nike Air Yeezy 2 'Solar Red'
In June 2012 Nike made 5,000 pairs of this black, snake-textured Air Yeezy 2, sent them mostly to the East Coast, and set off the sneaker frenzy that a year later drove Kanye West out the door.
- Year
- 2012
- Maker
- Nike
- By price in sneakers
- 39 of 100
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Create a free account- Shoe
- Nike Air Yeezy 2 NRG 'Solar Red,' Black/Black-Solar Red, style 508214-006
- Released
- June 9, 2012, alongside the 'Pure Platinum'
- Retail price
- $245 per most accounts; some release listings give $250
- Production
- 5,000 pairs of each of the two launch colorways, per one sneaker publication
- Designer
- Nathan VanHook, with Kanye West
- Inspirations
- Air Trainer 1, Air Foamposite One and Air Tech Challenge 2
- Details
- Anaconda-textured side panel, molded rubber heel, 'YZY' hieroglyphics, glow-in-the-dark outsole
- Distribution
- Black pairs mainly to the East Coast, Platinum to the West Coast; Chicago got both
The second Yeezy
After the Air Yeezy 1 sold out in 2009, Kanye West and Nike went back to work. The Air Yeezy 2 was designed by Nathan VanHook with West, and it took cues from classic Nike shoes: the Air Trainer 1, the Air Foamposite One and the Air Tech Challenge 2.
It was louder than the first. The details that defined it included a molded rubber heel, hieroglyphics spelling out 'YZY,' faux reptile skin with an anaconda texture on the side panel, gold aglets, an articulated tongue and an inscribed lace toggle. The Egyptian theme ran through the shoe, down to an owl logo on the interior.
The shoe was seen long before it was sold. It first appeared in February 2011 in The Black Mamba, a short film with Kobe Bryant directed by Robert Rodriguez, and West later wore pairs at Coachella and at Paris Fashion Week. Nike announced the release on May 29, 2012.
June 9, 2012
The Air Yeezy 2 launched on June 9, 2012, in two colorways: the light grey 'Pure Platinum' and the black 'Solar Red.' One sneaker publication puts the run at 5,000 pairs of each. Accounts of the retail price differ: most say $245, while some release listings give $250.
Nike split the country. West Coast shops received the Platinum version and East Coast shops the black pair, and Chicago was the only market to receive both. Both colorways sold out instantly. One Cincinnati boutique ran a raffle that sold more than 2,000 tickets to well over 500 people and raised a $10,000 donation for a basketball program.
It was West's summer: GOOD Music's single 'Mercy,' with West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz, was climbing the charts, and the label's compilation Cruel Summer followed in September 2012.
How to identify a Solar Red pair
The Solar Red is the black pair: a black upper with an anaconda-textured side panel overlay, Solar Red accents and collar lining, a molded rubber heel and a glow-in-the-dark outsole. The interior fabric is infrared pink, and the Egyptian owl logo sits inside.
Check for style code 508214-006 and the colorway Black/Black-Solar Red on the size tag.
Pairs signed by West also exist. One signed, new-in-box US size 11.5 pair has been offered with third-party authentication of the signature.
The shoe that ended a partnership
The Air Yeezy 2 made West's case that he could sell sneakers like an athlete, and it is where his relationship with Nike broke down. During the Yeezus Tour in November 2013, he complained that Nike had kept the release small and delayed the third colorway. The core dispute was money: 'Nike told me we can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete,' he said.
West left Nike in the fall of 2013 for a new partner, where he launched the Yeezy Boost 750 and 350 in 2015. Nike released one more Air Yeezy 2, the all-red 'Red October,' without warning on February 9, 2014, and that was the end of the line.
That makes the Solar Red and the Pure Platinum the only Air Yeezy 2s that Nike released while West was still its partner.
The numbers
- Release date
- June 9, 2012
- Retail price
- $245 (most accounts); $250 (some release listings)
- Style code
- 508214-006
- Colorway
- Black/Black-Solar Red
- Production
- 5,000 pairs each of Solar Red and Pure Platinum, per one sneaker publication; Nike has not published a figure
- Air Yeezy 2 releases
- Pure Platinum and Solar Red (June 9, 2012); Red October (February 9, 2014)
Timeline
The last Air Yeezy 1, the 'Net,' releases.
The Air Yeezy 2 first appears in the short film The Black Mamba.
Nike announces the Air Yeezy 2.
The Solar Red and Pure Platinum release; both sell out instantly.
GOOD Music releases Cruel Summer.
West wears an all-red Air Yeezy 2 on Saturday Night Live.
On the Yeezus Tour, West attacks Nike over royalties and the delayed third colorway.
West leaves Nike in the fall.
Nike releases the 'Red October,' the final Air Yeezy 2.
The world in 2012
Whitney Houston is found dead at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, at 48.
GOOD Music releases 'Mercy.'
The Miami Heat win the NBA title; LeBron James is Finals MVP.
GOOD Music releases 'Clique,' with Jay-Z and Big Sean.
Cruel Summer debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Price record
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, Nike Air Yeezy 2 'Solar Red' is number 39 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 (91 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The Air Yeezy 2 was seen in a Kobe Bryant short film more than a year before it went on sale.
- Chicago was the only city to get both launch colorways.
- Hieroglyphics on the heel spell out 'YZY.'
- The outsole glows in the dark.
- West said Nike refused him royalties because he was not a professional athlete.
- One Cincinnati boutique's raffle for the shoe raised $10,000 for a basketball program.
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