The Yeezy brand by Kanye West is immediately associated with the highly sought-after sneakers with futuristic designs that seem to come from the year 3032. In reality, the brand of the well-known rapper from Chicago, founded in 2013, is not just about shoes and is renowned for a comfortable, bold, and mid-priced street style clothing line. News from the social media universe of Twitter indicates that the label will collaborate with Gap for a clothing capsule collection set to launch in 2021. This novelty has been confirmed by West himself, who shared a photo on Twitter, the only social platform he uses after leaving Instagram less than two years ago. In the image, he is seen with what appears to be a complete model Gap x Yeezy, as he peers inside a khaki-toned bag with the signature of the former brand, featuring the words “developed by Yeezy and Gap.”
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West later shared a second image, revealing what we expect to be the logo of the new collaboration: “YZY” with Gap’s classic white typographic font against the navy blue background of the American brand. Both tweets were posted with the hashtag #WESTDAYEVER through which West officially confirmed the “partnership.”
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According to data provided by Forbes, West is worth over a billion dollars and is recognized as a key figure in the sneaker industry, not to mention that in his music genre, he is one of the greatest artists of all time. Many have questioned the reason behind a collaboration with Gap, a brand experiencing a sharp decline due to the coronavirus pandemic which resulted in a 43% drop in sales. True fans of Ye, as Kanye West is called, are not surprised by this initiative because they are well aware of his biography. They know how much their idol has long desired to collaborate with the casualwear giant, dating back to his time as a young man working as a salesman in a Chicago store of the chain. In 2015, he told Vanity Fair that he wanted to become the “Steve Jobs of the Gap” and later that same year, he mentioned to the now-defunct style.com that “Being the Steve Jobs of the Gap isn’t just for a cool project. I’m talking about full creative control of the company akin to the role held by Hedi Slimane.” In his song Spaceship, he also rapped, “Get back, get down, pull me closer to the Gap.”
So far, judging by West’s aforementioned tweets, we expect it to be a heavy workwear collection similar to the seasonal offerings of the designer at Yeezy. The last season release was inspired by West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, from their stay at their second home in Wyoming – carpenter coats and heavy denim jackets. Mowalola Ogunlesi, founder of Mowalola, posted on Instagram to reveal that she will be the design director of the partnership. However, sneaker enthusiasts might feel a bit disappointed as Business Of Fashion emphasized that the new line will not include the athletic shoes for which Yeezy is so famous.
Article excerpt from GQ UK