Kanye West has reportedly ended his partnership with Gap, with his lawyers saying the clothing retailer hasn’t fulfilled some of its obligations under their contract.
The rap and fashion star’s lawyers said Gap did not meet its obligations to sell 40% of the brand’s merchandise in brick-and-mortar stores during a specified time period and has not yet opened retail stores dedicated to the Yeezy Gap brand, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday (Sept. 15), citing a letter sent by the lawyers to the retailer.
PYMNTS has requested comment from Gap.
The termination affects only the Yeezy Gap brand clothing developed under the partnership between West and Gap; it does not affect the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga products also sold by Gap, according to the report.
West has also complained about a deal he has with sportswear company Adidas, per the report, which cited posts he has made on social media.
The partnership between West and Gap to develop the Yeezy Gap product line was announced in June 2020.
Read more: Kanye West Collaborates With Gap on YEEZY Apparel Line
As PYMNTS reported at the time, the clothing collaboration aimed to expand the size and breadth of the Yeezy brand on the heels of the success of the brand’s footwear. The Yeezy brand was to earn royalties and possible equity connected with sales performance.
In July 2021, PYMNTS reported that although the announcement of the partnership a year earlier had said that the product line would start to roll out in “the first-half of 2021,” the first, and at that time only, piece dropped in June.
See more: As Gap-Kanye West Pairing Turns One, Slow Pace of Yeezy Drops Stokes Concerns
That wait did nothing to stem the consumer frenzy that peaked as the item was released — and Gap’s online traffic among younger consumers surged to a heretofore unseen level.
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