Kanye West Inks Deal with Gap *Update September 2022* Now Parting Ways

[vogue28]

 

[Lola701]

Finally, GAP has found it savior! I expect muted colors, cuts similar to CDG shirt sweaters and maybe a more modern communication.
I think this collaboration makes totally sense even if I’m more excited about Kenneth size for Karl Lagerfeld.

That being said, I found it so funny that the GAP sweaters I bought for my nephews and myself for years and that they were a bit ashamed of wearing will now become part of the Hypebeast uniform.

 

[jeanclaude]

A fast-fashion chain is more suitable for his antics.

 

[SophiaVB]

Gap’s Deal with Kanye West Raises Questions About Postponed Telfar Collaboration

According to a source with direct knowledge of the conversation, Telfar and his team have not received any payment for the partnership, including a postponement fee offered by Gap.

 

[YohjiAddict]

Overpriced rags for everyone!

 

[dior_couture1245]

I'm with Lola. I think this could actually bring GAP back to life after decades of misstep after misstep.

90's GAP was fantastic...great, quality clothes, so much style, fabulous advertising and marketing....it's really been an untapped goldmine, and it's such a strange thing that no one has been able to do anything worthwhile with the brand for so, so long. I think Kayne has his finger on the pulse enough to be able to bring back the 90's GAP aesthetic and fit and styling in a current way.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Marc10]

I'm really not sure how successful this will be. The appeal of these designer collabs is the fact that is a relatively small, one-off collection. It's a collectible of some sorts. But this will be a continued line for years. I'm sure the first few drops will be hyped, but will the hype carry out for several years of constant, fast fashion delivery? Will the fact that it's GAP, therefore cheap in quality and price, decrease the desirability? And will the original Yeezy line still sell if you can buy something from the same designer but from a fraction of the price?

 

[Fiercification]

^ Good questions raised there.

The status of Gap in recent years confuses me so much. I grew up with the brand as a kid and have always felt it was quite powerful in the world of high-street fashion and beyond - ultimately aided by some of those great ads by Mikael Jansson and Karl Templer (F/W 2008!) and credits from Marie-Amélie Sauvé during her contributions to US Vogue around the same time (remember when she mixed Gap with Balenciaga by NG/Prada etc., those were the days! )

However latterly, particularly over the last five years they seem to have become so irrelevant. I always get sent big discount deals via their email newsletters, sometimes on a daily basis! And the pieces in stores haven't looked desirable for a long time, although I bought some stuff there for Christmas gifts in 2017.

So on the face of it, this move could be positive - even if I've always preferred Kanye's music over his fashion, even with my most lenient hat on! The hype will be good initially, but as Marc10 says, can it be maintained. I'm intrigued.

 

[lauralynn025]

I agree, as some of you have mentioned.. the hype is there. Many of his fans, and probably fans of Kardashians, will eat this up. But, I don’t know how long it can last.. 10 years is a long time in general, but in the fashion world it is like a lifetime!!

I am kind of interested to see what he does with this... but I guess maybe a bit underwhelmed. Will these collections look like things he has created before?.. or will they be different? I guess we will have to wait and see....

 

[kasper!]

Finally something interesting from Gap since their crossovers with Valentino & Pierre Hardy almost 12 years ago...

 

[Benn98]

'I'd like to be the Steve Jobs of Gap', lol. More like Halston, if you ask me.
In any case, always find it interesting when (mostly American) guys want to be 'the Steve Jobs of....', that's so brashy. Before his divorce, it used to be Jeff Bezos and I'm sure in the next few years it will be Elon Musk. Just find in interesting.

I don't want to see any tears about how Gap played or did him wrong in the coming years because he went into this with his eyes open. The Telfar deal has been clearly documented.
It may sound like a recipe for success because the 'minimalist' style of Yeezy would fit in well with Gap over a long period, but a lot of that would depend on what the frequency the will be. And also, how creatively fresh his collabs will continue to be year after year. I would argue that he's already struggling to keep the hype going for his Adidas collab because there are so many new brands popping up in the hypebeast market every single week. I mean, he changes the colour of a sneaker or tweaks the sole, call it new, and 'drop' every month of the year just to keep the brand trending. Now add on this GAP deal which would either fall in line with the already saturated hypebeast market or have HF aspirations (either way, like Fenty they're bargaining on piggybacking off some sort of popularity), and a few days ago he filed a trademark for Yeezy Beauty, and I'm sure he'd like to continue growing his own brand in the process as well? Yeah, no.

Ghost designers, time to dust off those resumes!

 

[Lola701]

Gap’s Deal with Kanye West Raises Questions About Postponed Telfar Collaboration

They did Telfar wrong because it means less cash for the brand but TBH, I hope he will get a collab similar to the one Kenneth Ize just got with Karl Lagerfeld. I think Tommy Hilfiger should do something with him. It will increase his visibility and maybe give him a new clientele. Something that is not guarantee with a Gap collab.

I'm really not sure how successful this will be. The appeal of these designer collabs is the fact that is a relatively small, one-off collection. It's a collectible of some sorts. But this will be a continued line for years. I'm sure the first few drops will be hyped, but will the hype carry out for several years of constant, fast fashion delivery? Will the fact that it's GAP, therefore cheap in quality and price, decrease the desirability? And will the original Yeezy line still sell if you can buy something from the same designer but from a fraction of the price?

TBH, Yeezy has been for a longtime an ego-trip project for Kanye and his friends. The clothes did not sell at all but H&M and Co were clever enough to milk on that. Kanye is very influential but his core audience does not spend 300 dollars on sweaters and the few retailers who sold his line were quite high fashion-oriented. When your shoes are made with Adidas, it’s only fair for your clothes to be made by GAP.

Finally something interesting from Gap since their crossovers with Valentino & Pierre Hardy almost 12 years ago...

They did something interesting some few seasons ago with Alexandre Mattuissi and some other designers but not with the magnitude of what they did 12 years ago. But I think thanks to that, in France, the brand has remained a staple of American Fashion. The store is near the Galeries Lafayette after all...

 

[TaylorBinque]

I thought they don't have money. But I guess this collab could be good for them. I mean Gap is basic. Yeezy is just basic. So this is basically Yeezy being produced in Gap factories at the appropriate price.

 

[jeanclaude]

What can we expect from this? More cheap Lang/Margiela/Owens rip-offs...but with hug GAP logos all over!

What´s next? Justin Bieber for Banana Republic?? This industry is totally nuts...

 

[Benn98]

They did Telfar wrong ......I think Tommy Hilfiger should do something with him. It will increase his visibility and maybe give him a new clientele. Something that is not guarantee with a Gap collab.

Won't happen, Tommy is too hung up on frothy wannabe celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Zendaya because they guarantee him a presence on social media and he ends up benefitting far more in the process than them. And actually, I'll be happy if Telfar never, ever collaborates with Tommy because it would hurt his brand terribly. The Tommy customer buys into a very specific aesthetic so they won't be able to meet his brand halfway because it's almost polar. Whereas Gap's aesthetic (and KL) is more nondescript and versatile to a degree, which makes it easier for a new designer to do the occasional collab with them.
Hopefully this experience with Gap made him a little more wary of partnering with just anyone for the sake of courting new customers. He'd see a far better customer conversion with Uniqlo. Their customers would not only appreciate Telfar's aesthetic, but also his values and price point when they do eventually move over. The enduring popularity of the JWA brand relies partially on his seasonal Uniqlo collab.

 

[dior_couture1245]

The Telfar collaboration would have been a blip and a flop, anyway. GAP knows this. Teflar is not a good designer. Nobody cares about his clothes...they just carry his cheap bag around.

 

[Kimihiro]

I’m interested. Gap has untapped potential. I hope they will treat it like Uniqlo U and not like a per-season capsule collection. 10 years is still a bit too long though.

There will be hype at first but it’s almost impossible to make it last long. We’re past peak-streetwear. He talked about complete Hedi-style creative control before so maybe a sub-brand like Uniqlo U would work. I want to see something legitimate and sincere. Also please, I hope the clothes are different from his Yeezy line.

 

[MulletProof]

And just like that, Gap went from a sad relic of 2 decades ago that no one has wanted anything to do with for at least 10 years to.. a Kardashian enclave lol. I'm not that surprised.. at least this family is not like Rodarte, they create the clothes they fit into.. pants with elastics, stretchy everything, balloon-y sweatshirts, sports bras, strings everywhere.. it'll all be here, just watch..

Good move for both of them.. and in a way, for whoever buys it too, they make it a little too easy for the rest..

 

[Deleted member 1957]

Am not a fan of his esthetic but think this is a good deal. Gap needs his craziness and millennial and GenZ appeal to bring their brand to 2021 an beyond and he needs their down to earth aesthetic and wide reach. Am actually a regular Gap/Old Navy client they have some good quality denim and tees for day to day and travel so its good to see them trying to do things out of the box to stay afloat. His brand's favoured colour palette will also match the brand perfectly.

 

[Lola701]

Won't happen, Tommy is too hung up on frothy wannabe celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Zendaya because they guarantee him a presence on social media and he ends up benefitting far more in the process than them. And actually, I'll be happy if Telfar never, ever collaborates with Tommy because it would hurt his brand terribly. The Tommy customer buys into a very specific aesthetic so they won't be able to meet his brand halfway because it's almost polar. Whereas Gap's aesthetic (and KL) is more nondescript and versatile to a degree, which makes it easier for a new designer to do the occasional collab with them.
Hopefully this experience with Gap made him a little more wary of partnering with just anyone for the sake of courting new customers. He'd see a far better customer conversion with Uniqlo. Their customers would not only appreciate Telfar's aesthetic, but also his values and price point when they do eventually move over. The enduring popularity of the JWA brand relies partially on his seasonal Uniqlo collab.

Uniqlo is a good idea and I totally get your point about Tommy even if for me it was really two representation of American Sportswear and also, a way for Telfar to get an elevated version of his work in terms of finishing and quality.
Uniqlo is fine but it could be «too close » to his brand in terms of quality in a way.

The great thing about JWA is that he has matured enough to have a stamp on very commercial and basic clothes through color palette and key pieces. His stuff for Uniqlo can be complementary to his own brand without clashing directly.

‘Telfar is a bit like Laquan Smith in that aspect. Laquan’s aesthetic is very borderline and his high-street collabs doesn’t really elevate the cachet of his brand because it’s the same skin tight latex dresses.

Kerby’s partnership with Reebok on the other hand is very successful because like JWA, it’s very complementary.