Ye Announces “It’s Time For Me To Go It Alone” In Regards To His GAP and adidas Partnerships

After his first foray into the fashion world with his failed brand Pastelle in the mid-2000s, Ye would face just about every hurdle and challenge, from a broken relationship with Nike to LVMH and others pulling deals at the last minute, to eventually becoming one of the industry's most well-respected tastemakers and designers.

To get to the position he’s in today, both financially and in terms of credit given, he would have to partner up with the German sportswear giant adidas to launch his Yeezy line. Years of success and a healthy relationship created some of the most iconic silhouettes and colorways of the past decade in footwear, like the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Zebra” and the Yeezy Boost 700 “Waverunner,” though his apparel selection was still in question.

Ditching adidas early on in his Yeezy Season line and eventually scrapping the whole label, things came full circle once he landed a 10-year deal with GAP, a brand that he worked for as a teenager, and at one time in the 2000s, was potentially willing to partner with the superstar on his own line of clothing. So far, the two have released the “Perfect Hoodie,” and Round Jacket in multiple colorways as well as a triple collab with Balenciaga, though the partnership has run into troubles internally since day one.

Maybe Sway did have the answers after all as after weeks of belittling board members and the brands themselves Ye spoke to Bloomberg and formally announced that once his deals with each brand were over he would be going solo.

Yeezy GAP Engineered By Balenciaga In-Store Shopping Experience (Image via owen__lang)

Ye’s Comments On adidas and GAP

“It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money.” Ye stated in his phone call with Bloomberg writer Kim Bhasin, “...Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.” Bold words from the mogul who is still contractually obligated to work with GAP and adidas until 2030 and 2026 respectively. Other notable quotes from this interview are in regards to adidas in which he stated “They my new baby mamas, I guess we’re just going to have to co-parent those 350s.” This comes after he slandered his long-time partners over accusations they were releasing colorways of the model without his approval. Ye even touched on claims of “blatant copying” of his designs when it comes to footwear (a la the Yeezy Slide and Yeezy Foam RNNR), stating “No one should be held in that position where people can steal from them and say we’re just paying you to shut up. That destroys innovation. That destroys creativity. That’s what destroyed Nikola Tesla.”

Plans For Yeezy After adidas and GAP

As for his future plans, Ye is looking to secure a 20% royalty rate in perpetuity on all designs that he worked on over at The Three Stripes to give his children and future generations of his family secured wealth. In the meantime, his Donda label is looking to open up university campuses around America, as alluded to in an already-deleted Instagram post stating he would use Young Thug’s property in Georgia for the college. On top of schools, the land would host farms, dorms, and shopping that would sell products designed by the Yeezy team. He’s even poached former adidas executive Eric Liedtke who currently runs his own independent clothing brand called “Unless Collective.”

With plans to utilize the YZYSPLY trademark for physical retail locations globally, Ye will also maintain control of Yeezy Supply (to the dismay of many sneakerheads) in the future to host drops of whatever product he sees fit as it is currently operated by adidas.

Knowing Ye, these plans and the current status of his partnerships will be ever-evolving. He could try to find a legal loophole to exit both deals early or possibly halt any new designs from releasing, leaving his adidas line in limbo for 4 more years and his GAP label for the next 8. We’ll all be keeping a close eye on the latest developments, so to stay informed on Ye’s future plans and the latest news in sneakers, streetwear, and more, keep it locked to our Twitter and the Sole Retriever mobile app.

Nicholas Vlahos

Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy watching films and discovering music. Follow me on Letterboxd @nickvlah For tips, reviews, or any shoes in a size 13, email nick@soleretriever.com