Kanye West went medieval to explain why his Yeezy brand partnership with Gap imploded this week.
West, who goes by “Ye” and appeared on CNBC wearing a large hat and sunglasses, described frequent clashes with Gap executives over the pricing and design of Yeezy Gap products. The music mogul terminated his partnership with Gap earlier this week, alleging the retailer had breached the terms of their agreement.
“Everyone knows that I’m the leader, I’m the king,” West told the network. “A king can’t live in someone else’s castle. A king has to make his own castle.”
Unveiled in 2020, West’s deal with Gap called for his Yeezy brand to release a “new line to deliver modern, elevated basics for men, women and kids at accessible price points,” according to a press release at the time. But the pact failed to meaningfully improve the struggling company’s bottom line, and West grew publicly frustrated with the partnership.
West said he wanted to sell items included in the Yeezy Gap product line for $20 but wasn’t allowed to set the prices. Instead, he alleged Gap executives set much higher prices for Yeezy apparel than for their other lines, with hooded sweatshirts selling for well over $200 and some products priced online at more than $300.
West accused Gap of copying one of his Yeezy brand’s T-shirts designs and selling the item separately for just $19. The Grammy-winning artist-turned-fashion mogul also said the company ignored his wishes for Yeezy-branded stores and released products in colors he never approved.
“I signed on with them because in the contract, they said they were going to do stores. They just ignored us about building stores constantly. It was very frustrating, it was very disheartening,” West said.
“Our agenda, it wasn’t aligned,” he added.
The Post reached out to Gap for comment.
West’s attorneys informed Gap on Thursday that he was terminating their deal, CNBC reported. A letter to the company accused Gap of failing to honor the terms of the agreement, including a launch of Yeezy Gap stores.
Gap Brand CEO Mark Breitbard confirmed the deal had ended in a memo to employees. The retailer will still sell through its existing Yeezy Gap products through the first half of next year.
“Simply put, while we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned,” Breitbard said, according to Bloomberg. “And we are deciding to wind down the partnership.”
West had previously ripped Gap and another business partner, Adidas, earlier this week, describing the companies as his “new baby mamas.”
“It’s time for me to go it alone,” West told Bloomberg.
