Kanye bridges the Gap with Balenciaga

The Future. Kanye West is bringing together the very different powers of Gap and Balenciaga under one collection. The mysterious “Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga” capsule is set to roll out this summer and will have a focus on accessibility — so if you want whatever it’ll be, you’ll get it. But what the collab may truly signal is that the lines between high fashion and low fashion can be blurred as long as celebrity and nostalgia are involved.

Transatlantic threads
Kanye is seeing if he can mix oil and water with a new collaboration between American-mall mainstay Gap and European fashion house Balenciaga.

• The Yeezy x Gap x Balenciaga collab is called “Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga” (that’s a mouthful).
• There’s been no announcement as to what will actually be sold (or which logo will be front and center), but the first clothes are set to drop in June, with another line set to drop later in the year.

Never in a million years would anyone have imagined Gap and Balenciaga working together, and Kanye is an interesting Venn diagram between the two polar-opposite brands.

Kanye has a ten-year-long contract with Gap that was inked last year. Meanwhile, Ye has become close collaborators with Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia, working together on the rapper’s Donda listening parties.

Drop the scarcity
The most interesting aspect of the collab is that it will be focused on accessibility — or, as Ye tells Vogue, “available to everyone at all times.” That’s a 180 from the prevailing streetwear and fashion strategy of creating scarcity in order to drive up the hype.

Does this mean you’ll find a YeezyGapBalenciaga shirt for $19.99 at your local Marshall’s in the near future? Maybe! Or, the brands simply won’t be able to manufacture enough clothes to meet demand, and prices will still skyrocket on StockX (Ye’s $200 Gap Round Jacket is reselling for $7,500 currently). Either way, Kanye is innovating once again.