Kanye West Terminates YEEZY and Gap's 2-Year Partnership After Public Gauntlet
Kevin Mazur/Getty Kanye West
Kanye West has ended the deal between his fashion brand YEEZY and Gap after two years.
Attorneys for the 24-time Grammy Award winner, 45, notified Gap on Thursday that YEEZY LLC is terminating their partnership in a letter that accused the retail giant of breaking their agreement by not releasing apparel or opening planned retail stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.
YEEZY and Gap's attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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In the letter obtained by WSJ, West's attorney Nicholas Gravante Jr. claimed that Gap was required to sell 40 percent of the YEEZY Gap line in brick-and-mortar stores during the second half of 2021, in addition to opening five retail stores dedicated to the YEEZY Gap line by July 31, 2023. It claims the company has yet to open a dedicated location.
"It was always a dream of mine to be at the Gap and to bring the best product possible," West told CNBC's Closing Bell. "Obviously there's always struggles and back-and-forth when you're trying to build something new and integrate teams."
GAP; GETTY
He found it "very frustrating" and "very disheartening" to be shut out of the creative process and not allowed to set prices, in addition to no stores opening. "Everyone knows that I'm the leader, I'm the king. A king can't live in someone else's castle. A king has to make his own castle," West said.
CNBC reported that Gap's shares fell four percent on Thursday after YEEZY outlined their grievances with the company in August before giving them the contractually-obligated 30 days to rectify the issues, according to West's attorney Nicholas Gravante.
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Gap CEO Mark Breitbard announced they would "wind down" their partnership with Yeezy in a Thursday memo to employees, which was obtained by CNBC.
"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 reportedly said in the statement.
Although the partnership is terminated going forward, the letter allows Gap to continue selling existing YEEZY Gap products before ceasing to use the brand name. It also does not affect merchandise made through YEEZY's collaboration with Balenciaga, which is also sold through Gap.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Kanye West
West previously issued Gap an ultimatum in a since-deleted video posted to Instagram last month, which accused the company of stealing his designs and cutting him out of the creative process.
"You have to really give me the position to be Ye and let me do what I'm thinking, or I have to do the thinking somewhere else," he said, according to WSJ, also announcing his plans to "open YEEZY stores worldwide," starting with Atlanta.
The Donda artist warned Gap they were next on his list, following a similar public feud with Adidas, which has also had a partnership with YEEZY for 10 years. Adidas did not previously respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
"It's going to cost you billions to keep me. It's going to cost you billions to let me go," West told Adidas in another since-deleted Instagram post, according to WSJ.
West expressed his intentions to cut YEEZY's corporate ties and venture out on his own with the brand in an interview with Bloomberg. "It's time for me to go it alone," he said.
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"It's fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever," West explained, adding: "Now it's time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience. ... If these companies, if they want to play with me — I've been playing nice up to this point."
