Kanye West has revealed that he is cutting ties with The Gap. The brand confirmed the news in an internal letter obtained by The New York Times. Gap president Mark Breitbard wrote, “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. And we are deciding to wind down the partnership.”
Earlier on Thursday (September 15th), Kanye’s legal team sent a letter to the brand seeking to terminate their agreement. Ye’s lawyers accused Gap of breaching their contract, claiming it neglected to distribute certain merchandise and failed to open dedicated YZY Gap stores as initially planned.
Ye’s lawyer Nicholas Gravante Jr. said, “Gap left him no choice but to terminate their agreement. Ye had diligently tried to work through these issues with Gap both directly and through counsel.”
The attorney said Kanye will now “promptly move forward to make up for lost time by opening Yeezy retail stores.”
During an interview with CNBC, Kanye spoke on his decision, saying he had limited control over the collection’s price points, colorways, and stockists. He explained, “It was very frustrating, it was very disheartening, because I just put everything I had into it. … And sometimes I would talk to the guys, the heads, the leaders, and it would just be like I was on mute or something. Our agenda, it wasn’t aligned.”