Kanye West wants to open his own Yeezy retail stores after accusing GAP of stealing his designs
Whenever Kanye West returns to social media, you know there’ll be controversy. This time the rapper has taken aim at clothing company GAP, who collaborated with West for his ongoing YEEZY GAP ENGINEERED BY BALENCIAGA (YGEBB) collections.
On Wednesday (August 31st), the Grammy award winner posted an image to Instagram of some fluorescent Yeezy glasses with a caption that read: “Gap held a meeting about me without me?” Later in the day, he returned once again, this time posting a screenshot of text messages in which he accuses GAP of stealing one of his designs. “This is Gap copying YGEBB,” West wrote in the text. He captioned the post, “But they cancelled the photo shoot with my kids in Japan without me knowing.”
Swiftly after, the artist posted yet again, this time a video in which he addresses a group of people “This is not celebrity marketing. This is not a collaboration. This is a life mission,” West declared in the clip.
Today (September 1st), West shared a post once more in which he revealed plans to open independent Yeezy stores worldwide, with Atlanta set to be the first location. “I’ll buy the land and or building. Then we gonna open up in every state and then internationally,” claimed the rapper before asking those with more than 10 years of experience in retail to reach out to him. Maybe it’s time to leave that job at H&M and work for West instead…
“I signed with both Adidas and GAP because it contractually stated they would build permanent stores which neither company has done even though I saved both of those companies at the same time,” the star continued, referencing his collaborative deals with both companies.
West partnered up with GAP back in 2020, intending to create “accessible” fashion. After just over a year, the first Yeezy GAP collection was released which featured the designer’s iconic nylon puffer alongside hoodies, tops and trousers.
This isn’t the first time West has spoken out against GAP. On an episode of the Drink Champs podcast, he said: “Ain’t nobody care about the GAP until we went to the GAP, bro.” He added: “I moved that stock… Even when they dropped the hoodies, they made it look like the Drake cover on purpose and didn’t show me.”
Back in June, West also took aim at his other collaborative partner, Adidas. He accused the brand of creating a “fake Yeezy” with their Adilette 22 slide sandals, which he compared to his own Yeezy slides. However, it didn’t end there as West criticised the brand once again after claiming that Yeezy Day – August 2nd, the annual day in which Adidas releases some of its most anticipated Yeezy sneaker drops – was created by the German brand without his personal approval.
