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.