Former Gap CEO Says Kanye West Shouldn't Have Partnered With the Brand
‘He is not a corporate person and Gap is a big corporation.’
The former Gap CEO and retail investor often credited with the brand’s success in the 1990s says he told Kanye West not to partner with the fast fashion giant.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance Live, Mickey Drexler said that working with the brand long-term “doesn’t work for someone like Kanye.”
“I probably shouldn’t say this but I told him he shouldn’t do the deal because it doesn’t make any sense in my opinion,” he told the outlet. “He is not a corporate person and Gap is a big corporation.”
He acknowledged that while West found success with the recent release of his $200 USD YEEZY Gap Round Jacket, the decade-long partnership between the two entities may be mismatched.
“So, I know the jacket sold out,” he said. “They did $7 million USD on the jacket overnight. He is a smart guy but he shouldn’t have done it. And I don’t think they should have done it, either.”
In June 2020, West announced a 10-year partnership between Yeezy and Gap, with a collection titled YEEZY Gap. The deal gives YEEZY royalties and potential equity based on sales performance over the duration of what Gap hopes to be a lucrative deal.
Last month, West was seen wearing a red version of the Round Jacket at his DONDA album preview in Atlanta. Gap released a black version of the jacket and purged its Instagram account in preparation for the YEEZY Gap collection drop.
In other Kanye West news, the rapper is slated to host another DONDA event at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta on August 5.
