French fashion house Balenciaga is no longer working with rapper and designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Parent company Kering announced exclusively to the magazine following questions from WWD that Balenciaga has cut ties with Ye.
"Balenciaga no longer has any relationship whatsoever or plans for future projects with this artist," Kering stated. The company spokesperson did not elaborate on the statement to WWD.
Balenciaga and Ye's collaboration comes to an end
Balenciaga had worked with Ye and American chain Gap since January on the line Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga, which was sold through Gap. The collaboration was an extension of Yeezy Gap, a convergence between Gap and Ye's label Yeezy. The partnership with Balenciaga seemed natural at the time: Demna Gvaslia, the chief designer at Balenciaga, had long been friends with Ye. They already worked together once for the launch of West's album Donda. On the fashion front, their work showed overlap.
Just earlier this month, Ye opened Balenciaga's SS23 show in Paris dressed in a heavy black jacket and pants with pockets. "The creative bond between Ye and Demna seems stronger than ever," Vogue wrote at the time.
Nevertheless, the line between Ye and Balenciaga is now being cut. This comes in the wake of the considerable controversy surrounding Ye, who has made some very controversial statements in recent weeks. This happened both during his last Yeezy show, where Ye presented a T-shirt with the text "White Lives Matter" on it, and through social channels and other media, where Ye made anti-Semitic statements, among other things.
Adidas, a brand with which Ye has also worked closely in recent years, subsequently said it would "reconsider" working with Ye. Balenciaga is now taking a more definitive step.