Kanye West has taken to Instagram to voice his issues with his fashion brand collaborators, Gap and Adidas. In the post, he said, “Gap having meetings about me without me. Adidas releasing old shoes and colouring my shoes like I’m dead.”
He also made another post accusing Gap of copying a design from Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga and cancelling a photoshoot with his children in Japan without his knowledge.
His current contract with Gap is a 10-year deal. The newest collection hit stores in August and had people talking on social media when all the clothing items were in large bags and had to be fished out at local markets.
In a now-deleted video West posted to Instagram, in which he seems to be addressing a group of Gap executives, he said, “This is Sparta. This is not celebrity marketing. This is not a collaboration. This is a life mission.”
He goes on to mention that while he loves Gap and working with them, he feels stifled by the company’s policies. He believes it was ludicrous to cancel pre-orders of the blue jackets and to never put on a fashion show. He threatened to back out of the deal and go somewhere where his ideas would be appreciated.
Before he deleted the other posts, Kanye West seemed to be serious about the ultimatum. He promised to open Yeezy stores worldwide and even put out an open call asking for “anyone who has 10 years of retail experience and is ready to change the world.”
The 45-year-old Grammy award-winning rapper also recently went after Adidas (which handles manufacturing and distribution for his Yeezy brand) for allegedly launching Yeezy Day, hiring staff and making design decisions without his input.
Kanye West’s history in fashion
Besides his rapping career and foray into other industries, Kanye West has had a long-standing history with fashion dating back well over a decade.
- In January 2007, West collaborated with A Bathing Ape on a Bapesta shoe for his Dropout album era. The shoe had a bear motif that was present for several albums.
- In 2007, Bape was bar none the most coveted streetwear brand on the planet. The Bapesta sneaker was their crown jewel, and Kanye designed a version that featured his mascot, the “Dropout Bear.” This marked the first time West collaborated with a brand on an original sneaker. He also announced a new clothing line, Pastelle and wore it in 2008.
- It wasn’t until 2009 that he shuttered that venture. After that, Mr. West collaborated with different brands producing items like the Air Yeezy 1 and his Louis Vuitton collaboration.
- Kanye West also debuted a womenswear collection called “Kanye West” in Paris in 2011 and collaborated with the late Virgil Abloh, to launch Pyrex Vision.
- He signed with Adidas in 2013 and released his first Adidas Yeezy in 2015.
These brands had to know this was coming and I’m sure have iron clad contracts reflecting it. If Ye isn’t careful some of those billions are gonna go right down the crapper because he can’t stop whining publicly. I was a big fan of his sneakers and apparel but have recently decided to fall back. I’m far from rich and had almost every 700 and a dozen or so choice pieces of clothing but I’ve had enough and cant defend him with peers etc anymore. Adidas for example I believe is just trying to stay on calendar. You know Ye’s not meeting any deadlines or creating any new silhouettes and hasn’t for awhile. Instead he’s busy dressing like a Rejected Bad-guys Underling from a Batman comic and running around “innovating” while releasing random things like his stem player and I’m over it. Sure, I’ve heard it’s cool but hardly life changing Mr ADD. How about finishing commuted projects that have historically done well that the public loved, most of his footwear for example. All we get now are different colorways of shoes the masses love. He’s definitely not creating anything new because he’s already on to the next being such an Innovator. The constant boasting on Monday that I’m Disney, Jobs, Gates, etc then crying very publicly on Tuesday about Kim & Jay & Gap & Adidas & Drake & Nannie’s, the list goes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Innovator, we know except you throw constant tantrums like a child who Id punch in the head if I could. Stfu & made deadlines while honoring your contracts or go away. I miss the old Ye who wore his sneakers and had the occasional or annual meltdown not this Baby who dresses horribly. The music is his only saving grace imo & it’s definitely not as good as it used to be. How much crap are we going to put up with just to give him out money for his “innovative” and cool products? I’m changing the channel & super happy with the half dozen or so New Balance shoes I’ve grabbed and love the 2 pairs of Salehe Crocs I’ve recently purchased for a slightly higher than retail price. This is stuff I can rock without murdering my bank account that I genuinely like regardless of hype that remains somewhat exclusive and cool.