LAPD Investigates YZY Gap Pop-Up After Ye’s Team Claims Merch Was Stolen
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A massive pop-up featuring more than 60,000 units of unreleased YZY Gap merch was shut down by a L.A. Police Department (LAPD) investigation on Friday.
Law enforcement responded to multiple calls around 10:30 a.m. indicating that a large group of individuals had convened at 3855 S. Hill Street in South Central L.A. for a sale of suspected stolen products.
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California retailer Urban Necessities and SRGN Studios, an operation run by Shoe Surgeon founder Dominic Ciambrone, began jointly promoting the pop-up on Thursday, inviting shoppers to visit the location from 10-8 the following day.
“ONE DAY ONLY. UNRELEASED YZY PRODUCT. GRAB THE LAST SUPPLY,” the post read. Subsequently, the partners posted photos and footage of boxes of YZY Gap gear being hauled into the location’s parking lot.
A video making the rounds on X shows LA Apparel founder and Yeezy CEO Dov Charney addressing the crowd that gathered at the event Friday morning. “This merchandise has been stolen from Ye, formerly known as Kanye West,” he said. Officers escorted Charney away from the scene, telling him that the investigation into the operation was ongoing. West appeared to cosign the message, reposting the footage of Charney on his own Instagram story.
LAPD told Sourcing Journal that the department had received more than one call about “suspects offloading stolen merchandise,” which prompted officers to respond to the scene. Ultimately, the department determined that no crime had taken place and that police intervention was unnecessary. The officer characterized the matter as a “civil dispute” to be resolved by the parties involved.
West’s team isn’t letting the issue go. On Friday afternoon, the music and fashion mogul’s chief of staff, political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, claimed that more than $1 million-worth of apparel had been stolen from West’s personal warehouse sometime last week.
Yiannopoulos told TMZ that West’s team noticed the posts from Urban Necessities and SRGN Studios, which advertised the sale of thousands of YZY Gap pieces for $20 each, after the theft. He said that West’s camp filed a police report and a cease-and-desist motion alleging that the pop-up organizers forged records showing the YZY Gap goods were legally obtained.
“We work with brands, consignors, partners, and clients from all over the world,” Urban Necessities and SRGN Studios wrote in a joint Instagram post following the incident. “We only deal in products that are fully authenticated from vetted sources.”
“The YZY Gap collection is no different. LAPD has investigated the fraudulent claims and have fully exonerated us from any allegations of misconduct,” they added. “Thank you to our community of supporters, stay tuned for what’s next…”
LAPD said that the groups’ claims of exoneration were less than accurate, as no one has been charged with a crime or tried in court. Charney declined to comment on the matter, and Yiannopoulos could not be reached for comment.
