Everything You Need To Know About The Collab Between Gap And Kanye West

Do you remember Gap? The once-powerful mall brand that produced quality and durable denim and basics? The brand is currently making a remarkable comeback in the fashion industry. 

Because of the ongoing pandemic-induced downturn, the mega-retailer was forced to close over 300 stores across the United States; this also raised questions and doubts about the future of the brand. In August 2019, before Gap's announcement, popular retailer Barney’s announced their sudden bankruptcy, which shocked the entire fashion industry and marked a grim future for their stores. 

The Gap and Yeezy Collab - How did it start?

Gap, struggling with an identity crisis, came up with a new idea to make a remarkable appearance in the fashion industry. The retailer and the brand are partnering with rapper Kanye West and his fashion business, Yeezy, for a new fashion line known as Yeezy Gap. The brand was introduced in the first half of 2021 under the creative direction of Kanye. 

Kanye has been busy after his partnership with the Gap brand. If you have ever followed any of Kanye's fashion projects, you probably know how the Gap Kanye West collections feel and look like. Kanye is personally looking into the designs and pushing for the better part of the decade. 

The brand is now focused on creating modern, uplifted basics for men, women, and kids at nominal price points. His design vision extended to the ways to flaunt the new clothing line in Gap’s stores as well as on their digital platform. 

Collaborating with the once renowned brand in the fashion industry, Gap, gives Kanye access to the huge platform along with an apparatus that allows him to release his designs at mall-brand costs. Gap has taken quite a greater chance on Yeezy and Kanye West, who is a celebrity, creative entrepreneur, designer, and rapper. They both agreed to a deal of 10 years with the option to renew it every five years, as per the person familiar with the relative negotiations. In the five-year tenure, it has been estimated that the Gap Kanye West collection will generate around $1 billion in annual sales.

Kanye West’s collaboration with Gap will fulfill his desire to make clothing for the masses, even as the company Yeezy has become a significant presence at New York and Paris fashion weeks. At Gap, jeans and tops often come at remarkable costs with great discounts. Gap will pay royalties and potential equities based solely on the sales performance of the products. 

First Product Launch of the Gap Kanye West Collection

After so many months of hard work and great work, Gap-Kanye West introduced its first product after the collaboration with the Kanye West Yeezy brand on Instagram on June 8, 2021. It was a $200 bright blue jacket, which was also available online on preorder. Kanye West was also seen wearing the same jacket in Los Angeles earlier in the month of June. It has now been over a year since Gap announced its collaboration with Kanye West to launch a new apparel collection. The CEO of Gap, Sonia Syngal, said that a partnership of this kind would become an important part of the future of Gap and is believed to have big potential for them. 

It's rather curious that Kanye West would want to collaborate with the Gap brand, which is already facing the downfall of around 43% in the fashion industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, he said that he believed in the potential of the collaboration and is doing his best to make it work well in the future. 

For anyone who considers themselves a true fan of Kanye West, the partnership with Gap is not that surprising at all. Yeezy already has an ongoing collaboration with the renowned brand Adidas. It has been estimated that Yeezy’s collaboration with Gap and Adidas is valued between $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion. Alone, the collaboration with Gap could be valued at $970 million. Although Gap did not share the financial details of the collaboration, Yeezy would earn royalties and potential equity related to the revenues through the multi-year partnership. 

Kanye West has always been vocal about his desire to collaborate with the casual wear giant for many years, pushed on by his stint as a sales assistant at one of the stores in Chicago when he was just a teenager. In Vanity Fair in 2015, he also stated that he wants to be the 

“Steve Jobs of Gap” and was revealed to introduce the collaboration with the brand. 

Kanye West and Gap’s Second Product Launch 

Kanye West and Gap’s second release was the Yeezy Gap hoodie, which made a brief appearance on the official website of Gap on September 28, 2021. The hoodie was available in six colors. The only thing that remains on the sparse Gap Kanye West website is a form that asks consumers about their name, email address, and preferred size. No matter what the views of Kanye West are in his personal life, people always respect his mind and creativity and support Yeezy Gap or any other fashion projects he introduced in the fashion industry. 

There is no such update about the next release of the Gap Kanye West products, which makes it more mysterious. People are curious to know more about the next release, and still, no one knows what to expect from the brand, making it more demandable in public. If you belong in the fashion industry or you are someone who needs to set up their own design house, you can get in touch with Fashinza. The platform will help you source clothes as per your needs. Stay updated about the fashion industry and get in touch with Fashinza.