Kanye West‘s company Yeezy announced this week that it will be terminating its contract with Gap Inc.
The decision, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, was outlined in a letter shared by the rapper’s lawyer. According to CNBC, the letter cites Gap’s alleged failure to meet obligations detailed in the agreement, which included distributing Yeezy products in its stores by the second half of 2021 and creating dedicated Yeezy Gap stores.
“Yeezy notified Gap of its concerns in August and gave the company a contractually-designated 30 days to cure its breaches,” Nicholas Gravante, a lawyer for the rapper, told CNBC, adding that Gap took “no action”.
The partnership between Gap and Yeezy was first announced in 2020. The two companies had signed a 10-year deal with the first collections of clothing from the collaboration set to be released in 2021. The first item, a blue puffer jacket, sold out within hours.
The news that Yeezy wants to end its partnership with Gap comes after the New York City Times Square Gap location recently unveiled their highly-anticipated collaboration in partnership with Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia.
The collaboration went viral shortly after customers noticed that the clothes appeared to be sold out of large black garbage bags, a creative decision that West later defended.
West has been openly unhappy about his collaboration with Gap for a bit and previously accused the company of prohibiting him from participating in the creative process.
The announcement that Yeezy plans to end its contract with Gap comes after West, who goes by Ye, told Bloomberg earlier this week that he sees himself working solo going forward.
“It’s time for me to go it alone,” he said on 12 September. “It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever. Like the round jacket, the foam runner, the slides that have changed the shoe industry. Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.”
In addition to the Gap partnership, which was expected to continue until 2030, West also has a longtime partnership with Adidas. With Adidas, he produces the popular Yeezy Boost 350s and the partnership is expected to go until 2026.
Of the idea that he may have to continue working with the brands, West told the outlet: “They my new baby mamas. I guess we’re just going to have to co-parent those 350s.”
Earlier this week, West announced plans to open his own Yeezy stores.
The Independent has contacted Yeezy and Gap for comment.
