Ahead of the third Dondaperformance art event later this week, well-versed Kanye West fans are expressing shock at the recent selling of a tactical vest purported to have been worn by the artist himself.
In recent days, a vest matching the aesthetic of those worn at the Aug. 5 Donda event in Atlanta was shared to the site of Justin Reed’s consignment shop. The listing alleges that the vest was “worn by Kanye West” at some point. West, who’s next bringing the ever-evolving Donda experience to his hometown of Chicago, is also alleged to have painted and drawn on the vest, which features an “MBD” etching on the back.
The vest ultimately sold for $20,000, which—as Reed explained to Tyler Watamanuk for GQin an interview published Tuesday—was actually double what he was originally planning to aim for with the sale. According to Reed, the vest was a gift from West to a security guard. The name of the security’s guard company? Per Reed, it was My Body Different, which West is alleged to have nodded to in the aforementioned “MBD” etching on the back of the roughly five-pound vest.
A previous client of Reed’s is said to have reached out to him “on behalf of a friend” about the vest, which the unnamed security guard had decided to part from if an appropriate selling price could be worked out. After sharing photos of the vest to Instagram, and prior to the eventual $20,000 sale, Reed said he received multiple offers. Among those, reportedly, was one from a major auction house.
It remains to be seen whether similar acts of resale will spawn from this week’s Donda event, which is slated for Thursday at Soldier Field and is believed to feature a recreation of West’s childhood home.
