Balenciaga Officially Cuts Ties With Kanye West After Controversies: ‘No Plans for Future Projects’ Together

usmagazine.com:

In light of Kanye West’s recent controversies, Balenciaga has severed their work partnership with the rapper.“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” Kering — the parent company of the fashion brand — told Women’s Wear Daily in a Friday, October 21, statement.The “Heartless” rapper, 45, has long worked with the French fashion house, most recently opening their summer 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week earlier this year.

Balenciaga’s creative director, Demna, also collaborated with West on his Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga line.The Chicago native’s fashions made headlines earlier this year after he decided to end his Yeezy brand’s partnership with Gap, alleging the retailer did not abide by their agreement over distribution plans.“While we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned.

And we are deciding to wind down the partnership,” Mark Breitbard, the president and CEO of Gap Brand, told CNN in a September statement.Breitbard added: “Yeezy Gap was launched to be a disruptive, highly creative endeavor – one that’s challenged us to think and operate differently, attracted new, younger and more diverse customers.

We will take the new, hyper-entrepreneurial ways of working we learned through this process with us as we move forward.”The “Stronger” performer’s Yeezy changes came shortly before his sartorial controversy, in which he and Candace Owens wore “White Lives Matter” shirts during Paris Fashion Week.“I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy.