Still want to purchase Balenciaga x Ye merchandise? It’s possible—sort of. Ye is selling “cut up” Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap hoodies for $20 under his newly launched “Ye24” presidential campaign.
The artist formerly known as Kanye West told entertainment outlet X17 he’s selling what appears to be unbranded (rebranded?) presidential hopeful 2024 merchandise—what he called “Ye couture”—from these collaborations as well as new products.
“We got the Balenciaga right here but it’s the Ye24 merch on it,” Ye said in a video that shows him giving the online news site a tour of his Los Angeles workshop. Ten employees are shown working in the background on sewing machines, producing the piles of apparel laid on the floor, which Ye has no problem walking all over.
“I’ve cut up 100 hoodies from Yeezy, from Balenciaga, from the stuff we did at Gap, from the stuff we did at Adidas, and everything we do is going to cost $20,” Ye said in the video. “We need to make sure that everyone can receive the same level of cuts, the same level of food, the same level of water, same level of education . . . We’re getting past the past, we’re focused on the future.”
But how ethical is this decision? Does Ye even have a legal right to repurpose these products? Balenciaga and Adidas cut ties with Ye following his anti-Semitic outbursts and “White Lives Matter” T-shirts debacle last month. Ye terminated his contact with Gap in September because the company allegedly failed to live up to the terms of their agreement.
“It’s going to take us a while to update, but we are the update. As a species we need to update together,” Ye told X17. “Everything’s been so divisive. Think about when they say ‘diversity,’ people look at that like it’s a good thing, but we’re the United States of America. We’re a universe . . . We’re a republic.”
Balenciaga and Gap did not immediately reply to Sourcing Journal’s request for comment. Adidas declined to comment.