Welcome to the 114th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we revisit Ye’s Yeezy x Gap collaboration, explaining the recent controversy that led to the partnership’s ultimate failure.
News broke this last Thursday that Ye, formally known as Kanye West, will be terminating his contract between his eponymous label, Yeezy, and Gap. Following a slew of posts calling for attention to unmet requests, the designer’s legal team sent an official letter of termination to the Gap’s higher-ups on September 16th.
Shortly after, Ye took to Instagram to announce he will be opening a chain of physical Yeezy locations, beginning in Atlanta and expanding across the United States. This plan was intended to be set in motion months ago alongside his former counterpart, but after failure to meet agreed upon terms, Ye appears to be going solo.
Breaching the agreement, Gap has not sold a “single [Yeezy] Product in a single Gap store”, or opened “a single dedicated store anywhere in the world”. This is one of the many alleged discrepancies between the executives and Ye himself, frustrations tracing back to unapproved colour ways and pricing specifically.
In fact, during Ye’s CNBC interview, the creative revealed that the Gap ignored repeated requests for $20 products, opting to instead capitalise on his following with a 900% markup. “It was very frustrating. It was very disheartening, because I just put everything I had. I put all of my top relationships,” Ye said. “Our agenda, it wasn’t aligned.”
Attempting to rebuttal Yeezy’s claims, Mark Breitbard, Gap’s CEO, sent an email to all employees explaining the situation. Within, he affirms the corporation has retained utmost legitimacy alongside their end of the deal, but ends with rather confusing sentiment. He claims to pursue and “fortify Gap as an icon at the intersection of fashion, music and culture”, after disbanding the Magnum Opus of each.
“Everyone knows that I’m the leader, I’m the king. A king can’t live in someone else’s castle. A king has to make his own castle.” -Ye.
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