Kanye’s Pastelle Varsity Jacket Could Be Yours (If You Have $10k to Spare)
Remember Ye's Pastelle varsity jacket — the jacket that never saw a release amongst the fallen brand's several other pieces? Well, the moment has come (sort of), seeing as Ye's famed jacket from his Pastelle line has finally dropped — but on the second-hand market.
A medium-sized Pastelle jacket is being sold by renowned consignment curator Justin Reed through his namesake luxury vintage shop, which also listed Ye's custom Goyard backpack for $55,000 in 2021.
The price tag of the Pastelle jacket? Oh, just $10,000. Yeah, you probably just clenched your wallet just now, but the price is definitely not a surprise, especially since a pair of sample Pastelle sneakers went up for $5,000 back in 2019.
After all, the blue Pastelle jacket never saw the light of day – except on Kanye's back during his appearance at the 2008 American Music Awards — making it an extremely rare, top-tier grail in the streetwear realm.
Inspired by a vintage leather troupe jacket sourced by Edgar Sosa and Touch Su, the iconic cobalt blue Pastelle varsity jacket displays orange and light blue colorblocking, topped off with the prominent 90s-inspired Pastelle branding on the front and back.
In short, the outerwear garment served as a perfect reflection of Ye's vibrant tastes for tiger stripes, Louis Vuitton everything, and spacey sunglasses during the early 2000s era.
Despite the immense hype surrounding its existence, Pastelle and its products never got their chance to shine with an official launch, which was shocking considering the label boasted a dream team of the industry's heavy-hitters.
Virgil Abloh, Don C, Kim Jones, RETROSUPERFUTURE's Daniel Beckerman, Ben Baller, and KAWS were amongst the 30-something collaborators on Ye's Pastelle team.
Essentially, West had the ultimate recipe for the makings of a major brand on his hands. But, unfortunately, Pastelle didn't entirely turn out that way (or at all, for that matter).
Many suspected Pastelle's demise resulted from the brand's lack of internal structure and West's inability to balance his designer-rapper lifestyle. However, a member of Ye's team stated that the rapper simply felt that Pastelle's collection "wasn't ready" for the public.
Plus, he was more into luxury womenswear, hence why he went on to unveil his KANYE WEST women's line — another Ye venture which also fizzled out following the second collection's debut in 2012.
In 2016, murmurs of a Pastelle resurrection hit the streets, with reports that accused rapist and stylist Ian Connor would lead at the brand's helm. But, like the brand's initial drop, the re-launch has yet to happen.
The day Pastelle officially makes its comeback (if ever), it would only be right to finally drop its OG varsity jacket. But until then, Justin Reed's listing is your best bet at owning the preeminent jacket.
Got $10K to spare?
