Yeezy terminates GAP collab as collectors celebrate

“The end of a collaboration altogether means lessened supply, which typically means greater price appreciation.”

“The end of a collaboration altogether means lessened supply, which typically means greater price appreciation.”

Yeezy has terminated the partnership with GAP after a spectacular public showdown, and sneakerheads are celebrating as the value of the product will escalate.

The companies are longer “aligned” in how they work, according to a memo seen by The Wall Street Journal.

West notified Gap of the formal termination in a letter from his lawyers that alleged the brand had breached their agreement by not opening the five retail stores dedicated to Yeezy Gap products by July 31, 2023.

Drew Haines, Merchandising Director of Collectibles of streetwear marketplace StockX, tells The Oz the tumult is only good news for collectors: “today’s most influential celebrities and industry leaders have the power to cultivate hype and impact pricing.”

“The end of a collaboration altogether means lessened supply, which typically means greater price appreciation.”

Such a demise, Haines suggests, is actually beneficial to the streetwear trading space.

Grails -  a very rare, almost impossible to attain sneaker - garner a more lucrative price point, with enormous profits to benefit those who sell the sneakers in the first place.

Data from StockX reveals Yeezy products grew 1,063% in 2021, with the GAP collaboration boosting West’s designs to the number one spot on the platform’s list of fastest-growing apparel brands.

However, West’s cessation of a collaboration with Gap will not immediately halt production of his products, with items set to be released in the coming months. In his 10-year deal with Adidas (which runs to 2026), the German brand is seeking to continue the partnership, despite growing tensions.

In early September Ye threatened on Instagram to "legally destroy" Adidas, another brand Yeezy maintains a tumultuous partnership with. 

The brand offered the musician a $1 billion buyout from the collaboration, after Ye claimed they released products without his participation.

"The fact [Adidas] felt they could color my shoes and name them without my approval is really wild,” Ye wrote in a post on Instagram.

“I really care about building something that changes the world and something I can leave to my kids. They tried to buy me out for 1 billion dollars. My royalties next year are 500 million dollars alone.”

Ye posted that he has given Adidas the opportunity to "settle this quietly" but his feud with GAP - over what he claims is plagiarism and the company backing out of a photoshoot with his kids without proper notice - continues.

Resident sneakerhead Marc dela Rea, 35, who has been collecting and trading footwear for 15 years tells The Oz celebrity-endorsed lines have a “major impact” on fashion fanatics, primarily due to the emotional, parasocial relationship attached to it.

“If I really love their work or what they represent, it inspires me to buy their product - not so much because it's their product, but what their product represents, the story it tells and how I feel wearing it,” he shares.

Rea seems unperturbed by the West drama, noting the online saga will likely follow in history’s sneaker-clad footsteps.

“If you take Travis Scott's situation a while ago, people were trying to cancel him and make him sound bad for [the Astroworld tragedy] but prices for his shoes didn't take so much of a hit,” he says.

“So in the case of Kanye, or ‘YE’ as he likes to be called, I don't think interest from his products will wane - if anything, all the drama he’s causing is drumming up more interest in him and his brand.”

Haines echoes the sentiment, suggesting the enduring allure of the streetwear market is fuelled by a “cultural cachet”. The release of ESPN’s docuseries “The Last Dance” in 2020, that chronicled the career of basketballer Michael Jordan “saw a huge spike in sales of Jordan sneakers.”

A single Beyonce sighting with a white Telfar bag, saw demand surge for the designer, with trades on StockX increasing 500%.

For the luxury market already hinged on scarcity, could this be Ye’s greatest piece of performance art yet? We’ll believe the hype when we see it.