The repeated escapades of singer Kanye West have just cost him his lucrative association with the house of Balenciaga.
Posted at 11:13 a.m.
It was the French company Kering, owner of the Balenciaga brand, which made the announcement on Thursday during the unveiling of its third quarter results. In response to questions from Women’s Wear Daily, the company said it was severing all ties with the American rapper who now calls himself Ye. Kering’s decision comes on the heels of controversial comments made by the artist, including anti-Semitic slurs and slurs against Joe Biden — he called the US president a “fucking backward” (fucking retarded).
The singer took part in the launch of Balenciaga’s summer 2023 collection in early October, staged in a mud pit during Paris Fashion Week. We saw him sporting what could recall a military uniform, with a mouth guard. This photo has been removed from Balenciaga’s website. It was the last collaboration between Ye and artistic director Demna, with whom he worked last February for the launch of the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga clothing line – the event coincided with the show Wave 2, presented in Miami. Gap just ended its deal with the rapper last month, while Adidas says it is currently considering its association with Ye — the singer has been representing the German sports equipment and apparel company for 10 years.
Ye, who was diagnosed in 2016 with bipolar disorder, has stepped up the escapades since appearing at Paris Fashion Week with a t-shirt emblazoned with the words “White Lives Matter”, a racist slogan that emerged in 2015 in response to the Black Lives movement Matter. The singer was also suspended from social media Twitter and Instagram following comments that violated hate speech rules; he responded by buying the conservative right-wing platform Parler.