Later this year, expect to see a hint of Balenciaga‘s signature style at your local Gap store.
The French luxury brand’s creative director, and longtime Kanye “Ye” West friend, Demna Gvasalia is adding his take to the retailer’s Yeezy Gap collection.
In a short statement Yeezy Gap said, “this first of its kind launch sees Ye’s peerless vision bring together the most influential designer of his generation, Demna, with iconic American brand, Gap.”
While no further details about what apparel or accessory categories we could expect from this collab, the brand did confirm to FN that the first drop is slated for June 2022 under the “Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga” label. The brand also stated that we can expect to see continued Yeezy Gap releases.
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“Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga continues Ye’s commitment to bringing creativity to the forefront and delivering his vision of utilitarian design for all,” the brand’s statement added.
Yeezy Gap was first announced in June 2020 in a move that was most certainly done to drum up business at the retail chain. This partnership brought the relationship between West and Gap full circle, as West worked in a Gap store as a teen growing up in Chicago.
At the time of the announcement, the partnership was celebrated as a way to introduce both the Gap and Yeezy brands to new audiences. Under terms of the partnership, Gap and Yeezy benefit as the business grows, with West receiving royalties and potential equity related to sales achievement.
“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,” said Mark Breitbard, global head of the Gap brand, said at the time of the deal announcement.
This news comes after a March 2021 report stated that West’s Yeezy Gap deal was valued at nearly $1 billion. According to a “private document” obtained by Bloomberg, investment banking firm UBS Group AG valued the Yeezy and Gap deal as high as $970 million. It added that West’s sneaker and apparel business with both Gap and Adidas AG could be worth as much as $3.2 billion through $4.7 billion.
