Just two weeks ago, Kanye West was the first model to walk the runway at Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week 2023 show, splattered with mud.
Now, as WWD first reported on FridayBalenciaga has officially severed all ties with West in the wake of a series of anti-Semitic remarks made by the rapper and cartoonist. Kering, Balenciaga’s parent company, did not specify the reasons for its decision.
“Balenciaga has no further relationship or future plans related to this artist,” Kering told WWD. Images of West wearing Balenciaga clothes and accessories have been removed entirely from the brand’s website. The Daily Beast has contacted Kering for comment.
As backlash from the fashion community intensifies and Balenciaga becomes the latest major company to cut all connectionsit seems obvious to everyone but West that each of his remaining ties to the fashion world is in serious jeopardy.
In September, West reportedly ended his relationship with Gap two years into a 10-year contract after criticizing the company, which he said took credit for his designs and excluded him from the creative process. Under the terms of the split, Gap is still permitted to sell Yeezy Gap Clothing.
At Paris Fashion Week, West dressed the runway models for his latest YZY collection in “white lives matter“, sparking intense outrage. Since then, West has gone on something resembling a sustained tirade, suggesting that LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault “killed my best friend,” a likely reference to designer Virgil Abloh, who deceased in 2021 after battling cancer.
Supreme Creative Director Tremaine Emory hit back at West for the comment. “Your best friend Virgil, NEGRO PLEASE, this time last year you said Virgil’s designs were a disgrace to the black community in front of all your employees at Yeezy”, Emory wrote on Instagram.
A few days later, West claims that he was first offered the position of artistic director at Louis Vuitton which eventually went to Abloh, and that he experienced “a lot of pain and jealousy” as a result.
In the days following Paris Fashion Week, West appeared on Tucker Carlson tonight to claim he was “pro-life,” falsely claimed that George Floyd had died due to ingesting fentanyl, and tweeted that he was going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” a comment that banned him from Instagram and Twitter.
As more fashion heavyweights moved away from West, his fury didn’t subside.
In response to the announcement of Adidas that they were putting their partnership with West under consideration, West wrote, “FUUUUUUCK ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS” on Instagram.
“After repeated efforts to resolve the situation privately, we have made the decision to place the partnership under review. We will continue to co-manage the current product during this time,” the company said. in his statement.
West’s complicated relationship with Adidas is well documented: West and the brand first launched a collaboration in 2015, debut with the YEEZY BOOST 750 shoe. West and Adidas continued to release a series of now-ubiquitous sneakers and conceptually alien slides under the Yeezy line, which, according to the Washington Postgenerates around $2 billion a year for Adidas, or nearly 10% of the company’s annual revenue.
But in June, West took to Instagram to sound the alarm about the brand’s new Adilette 22 sandals, that West called “a fake YEEZY made by Adidas themselves.” Prior to announcing that their relationship with West was under consideration in October, Adidas had not publicly commented on his inflammatory posts.
“The thing about Adidas is I can literally say antisemitic shit and they can’t let me down”
— Kanye West
The Anti-Defamation League urges Adidas to cut all ties with West, and others fashion light fixtureslike model Gigi Hadid, have spoken out to berate him for his behavior, but West is defiant: “The thing about Adidas is I can literally say anti-Semitic shit and they can’t let me down,” West said. . the week on the Drink Champs Podcast. “Now what?”
The Daily Beast has contacted Adidas for comment.
Harlem-based brand Legendary6ix and designer Franky Baca also accused West of “loan» conceiving ideas without giving them proper credit.
Baca, whose concern is with YZY SHDZ sunglassesTold rolling stone that West collaborator, Digital Nas, reached out to him: “I talk to their creatives and stuff and they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s nice. We love it,'” Bac said. “They were like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to love this. So I was like, ‘All right, cool.’ And then, the next thing I know, I’m seeing pictures of my glasses design on social media.
Other fashion institutions denounce West. After West mocked vogue journalist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson with Instagram posts in response to her criticism of her White Lives Matter collection, fashion magazine vogue issued a statement in support of his employee.
vogue ‘stands by’ Karefa-Johnson, magazine says in his statement. “Now more than ever, voices like hers are needed. In a private meeting with Ye today, she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best on her terms.
vogue editor Anna Wintour has been spotted posing with West at New York Fashion Week in September, but has not publicly commented on any of her recent remarks.
The Daily Beast has contacted Condé Nast and Wintour for comment.
