After publicly expressing his frustrations over the current state of his relationships with Gap and Adidas, the artist formerly known as Kanye West has vowed in a new interview that he will next be going the independent route, free from the constraint of “companies standing in between me and the audience.”
These comments come from a new interview with Ye shared by Bloomberg’s Kim Bhasin on Monday. In it, Ye spoke generally about the current status of his brand relationships, with the outlet noting the deals in question are set to run for several more years. His Gap Inc. agreement, for example, is slated to end in 2030.
“It’s time for me to go it alone,” Ye said. “It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever.”
Ye specifically mentioned items he considers undeniably influential on the fashion industry at large, including the round jacket and the foam runner. But next up, he said, there will be a “new industry” led by him and his ideas.
As for how the remaining years in both agreements will shape up, Ye suggested both companies will simply have to learn how to “co-parent” his ideas with him for the time being.
“They my new baby mamas,” he said before specifically mentioning the Yeezy Boost 350s model.
See the full interview, which includes mention of Ye’s related issues with JPMorgan Chase & Co., by hitting this link. Also given attention in the sure-to-be-widely-cited piece are Ye’s recent frustrations over “blatant” design copying and other creativity-undermining tactics he says he’s been targeted with.
Complex has reached out to reps for Yeezy Gap for additional comment.
In short, none of this likely means that anything is “over,” at least not immediately. Even amid the public airing out of issues with his corporate partners, Ye has continued to tease the impending release of new pieces, including (most recently) YZY SHDZ and the YZY BCK PCK. A pair of recent images captured by Nick Knight featured those pieces being modeled by Candice Swanepoel.
The larger Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga experience was briefly the subject of speculation of it being near its end in July, due to a New York Timespiece citing comments from Balenciaga creative director Demna. Ye later clarified, however, that YGEBB “is actually just beginning.”
