Kanye West's Yeezy is leaving Gap following a flurry of Instagram posts directed at the company after not seeing eye-to-eye regarding the creative direction of the brand.
The brand's creative direction is one thing, but Gap's failure to meet the obligations agreed between the companies was one of the biggest factors that pushed West to terminate the contract with the clothing brand, CNBC reported.
A letter shared by West's lawyers detailed that Gap was required to sell 40 percent of Yeezy merchandise in its stores during the second half of 2021, as well as open five dedicated Yeezy Gap stores.
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The Issue
The 45-year-old has been in headlines following his not-so-private feud with Gap and Adidas, the partners for his brand Yeezy; and while West has managed to smoothen things out with the German athletic brand, he decided to end the partnership with Gap.
According to the Associated Press, the Gap and Yeezy partnership was announced in June 2020.
"Gap left Ye no choice but to terminate their collaboration agreement because of Gap's substantial noncompliance," wrote Nicholas Gravante, West's lawyer, in a statement to the Associated Press.
"Ye had diligently tried to work through these issues with Gap both directly and through counsel. He has gotten nowhere."
The partnership with the clothing brand was supposed to end in 2030, however, due to the circumstances brought up by West and his team, they plan to terminate it two years into the contract.
"Yeezy notified Gap of its concerns in August and gave the company a contractually-designated 30 days to cure its breaches," added Gravante.
However, Gap failed to take action to West and Yeezy's concerns.
A King's Castle
The hit-making rapper was saddened by the turn of events, noting, "It was always a dream of mine to be at the Gap and to bring the best product possible."
"It was very frustrating. It was very disheartening because I just put everything I had. I put all of my top relationships," he continued.
He added that their "agenda" was "not aligned," however, he acknowledges that struggles are part of building something new and integrating teams.
Just like in his issue with Adidas regarding his lack of control over his brand's creative process and such, West also emphasized his role in the Yeezy and Gap partnership.
"Everyone knows that I'm the leader, I'm the king," he said. " "A king can't live in someone else's castle. A king has to make his own castle."
According to reports, West's vision for Yeezy goes above and beyond. He noted that he has to "do the thinking somewhere else," and that he plans to expand the brand worldwide, starting with Atlanta.
As of this writing, Gap has yet to give their statement regarding the issue.
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