Kanye West is the only person who can combine a high-fashion label with a major retailer.
On Friday, the 44-year-old rapper will expand his Yeezy Gap collection to incorporate Balenciaga design director Demna Gvasalia’s input.
According to a press statement obtained by Page Six Style, the initiative is officially known as Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga.
“This first of its kind launch sees Ye’s peerless vision bring together the most influential designer of his generation, Demna, with iconic American brand, Gap,” reads the press release.
“Yeezy Gap engineered by Balenciaga continues Ye’s commitment to bringing creativity to the forefront and delivering his vision of utilitarian design for all.”
West and Gvasalia have been longtime friends, but their collaborations have recently increased, with the designer serving as a creative influence on several of the rapper’s latest musical and visual endeavors.
In addition to wearing Balenciaga on a daily basis, West has also dressed up his ex-girlfriend Kim Kardashian and his new fiancée Julia Fox in the Georgian designer’s creations.
Gvasalia even followed in West’s footsteps by renaming himself Demna shortly after Kanye officially abbreviated his name to Ye.
In 2020, West inked a 10-year design agreement with Gap, and since then, he’s created a modest array of goods, including a $90 sweatshirt and a $200 puffer jacket, that have all sold out.
“There are very few people that I know, especially of Ye’s caliber, who really understand my work so well. He makes me come out of my comfort zone and be a better designer,” Demna told Vogue.
“There’s no ego when we collaborate, just a mutual drive to evolve and do something great and new.”