The Upcoming Collaboration with Yeezy x Gap
Kanye West has revealed a partnership with fashion retailer Gap for an upcoming collaboration with his Yeezy line, set to be released in 2021. Under the hashtag #WESTDAYEVER, he teased some of the pieces from the collection which comprises of affordable apparel, designed by Yeezy and distributed through Gap’s online and high-street stores.
The collab comes full circle for Ye, having once worked at their Chicago branch in their heyday. Despite expressing his discontent with working in retail on the track ‘Spaceship’ he retrospectively cites Gap as influence for his journey into fashion. In a 2013 interview, he stated that previous attempts to work for the retailer had failed — “I went to The Gap, and said ‘Let me try to do something’ but I couldn’t get past the politics.”
Ye envisioned Yeezy to be an inexpensive and accessible commodity since its conception and longed for full creative control of his projects with a brand that is able to mass-produce and market to a wide demographic — a request Nike wasn’t able to fulfil. But his 2015 prophecy has now been spoken into existence — “When I say Steve Jobs of the Gap…I’m not talking about a capsule. I’m talking about full Hedi Slimane creative control of the Gap is what I would like to do.”
Following their high-street domination in the 90s, Gap couldn’t keep up with consumer trends and lacked innovation in the online market which saw sales decline at the turn of the century. Having struggled to reignite their spark, this collaboration comes at a pivotal moment for Gap who have recently reported a $932M quarterly loss due to the closure of 90% of their stores since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But by finding relevancy in a congested market, they have witnessed a 31% increase in shares since Ye’s announcement this morning.
“We are excited to welcome Kanye back to the Gap family as a creative visionary, building on the aesthetic and success of his YEEZY brand and together defining a next-level retail partnership.”
With a partnership inked for 10-years, could Ye help Gap reclaim their high-street success and what would you like to see from the upcoming collaboration?
Written by Ali Twice for @originalshift
