This article was originally published on May 28. The first piece from YEEZY Gap has now been teased and you can find out how to pre-order it here. It's hardly hyperbolic to say that there hasn't been a fast-fashion collection with half as much anticipation as YEEZY GAP, Kanye West and Mowalola Ogunlesi's still-under-wraps partnership with the iconic American mega-retailer. Comprising what Kanye probably considers the "perfect hoodie" and GAP calls "modern, elevated basics," the exact apparel that's dropping is remains hazy but the line itself is has received a loose release date.
Last week, Bloomberg further delved into the details of the YEEZY GAP partnership, including an estimation by German bank UBS Group AG that it will be worth approximately $970 million. Even those eye-watering figures are relatively conservative given that sales of YEEZY's adidas sneakers reached $1.7 billion in 2020 alone, according to Forbes.
The Bloomberg article — originally published in March but recently updated with financials — also claims that GAP's Kanye West collaboration will "launch by July," which could basically mean any time during the month, so the exact timing is a little fuzzy. It seems like it'd be safe to say that YEEZY GAP is expected to drop this summer by late June or mid-July, but GAP CEO Sonia Syngal may have other thoughts.
Gap's Q1 2021 earnings report was pretty light on YEEZY GAP info but in a call with investors, Syngal opened up a little more about the much-hyped endeavor. "We can't say whether it'll release in Q2 or Q3 [2021]," she admitted. Appropriate given Kanye's own propensity for delays, but not very helpful. Syngal also noted that YEEZY GAP draws more questions from fans and investors than anything else. "Every day we see the hype building," she said. "We love the enthusiasm [but it's] a work in progress [being developed with] deep intention." Syngal also asserted that the YEEZY team's "creativity is through the roof" and is "spilling over" into other realms of GAP's business, "inspiring [and] re-energizing the team."
If nothing else, Kanye is apparently "very focused" on delivering the goods. YEEZY will earn scaling royalties on the purchase of each piece and — should sales meet or surpass expectations — equity in GAP that could be worth up to $700 million, Bloomberg purports. Given that Kanye's partnership is key to the future of GAP's business, it's the least they could do.
