While DONDA hype is at an all time high, other aspects of Kanye West's enterprise have come under fire. West entered into a ten-year deal with the Gap clothing brand in June 2020 with plans to "modern, elevated basics for men, women and kids at accessible price points." His experience in the fashion world is not one of a novice – he has previously worked with brands like Nike and Adidas, creating iconic footwear models for both, in addition to collaborations with high-fashion and streetwear brands. With this new Gap deal in place, and his first piece for the brand – a blue puffer jacket – selling out instantly, it seems he still has some detractors. Namely, the former CEO of the clothing brand.
Mickey Drexler, former Gap CEO and previously a member of Apple's board of directors, spoke with Yahoo Finance about the brand's latest endeavors, including West's first released collaboration with the brand.
"I probably shouldn’t say this but I told him he shouldn’t do the deal because it doesn’t make any sense in my opinion," he said. "I have a lot of friends at Gap still, but it doesn’t work for someone like Kanye. He is not a corporate person and Gap is a big corporation."
Continuing on, he said, "So, I know the jacket sold out. They did $7 million on the jacket overnight. [Kanye] is a smart guy but he shouldn’t have done it. And I don’t think they should have done it, either."
Despite the detractions, what Drexler said is true – the first piece, which was released on West's 44th birthday, racked up millions in sales. West has previously rapped about the fashion industry attempting to box him and his creativity out on records like Yeezus and The Life of Pablo. Drexler's comments look to be another notch of opposition against Kanye's creative efforts in the fashion world.
Check out a clip from the interview below. What do you think of Drexler's comments?