Due to recent anti-Black and antisemitic comments, Kanye West has lost his talent representation, connections to important fashion businesses, and other profitable relationships. Many are wondering if the fashion and music mogul's actions have put an end to the Black American rapper's decades-long career.
How it all started?
Kanye West, faced sharp criticism this month after presenting t-shirts at Paris Fashion Week with the anti-white slogan "White Lives Matter." Later, he distributed those T-shirts to Los Angeles's homeless population.
A Black Vogue fashion editor who criticized Ye's collection was publicly insulted by Ye via his Instagram account. This prompted Vogue to reprove Ye for his comments and to indicate that the magazine will no longer collaborate with him. Soon after Kanye participated in the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week, the company announced that their relationship was over. According to Kering, the parent company of Balenciaga, “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”
According to Insider, the company also took down references to Ye from its website, including a partnership with Yeezy Gap. The famous rapper announced in September that he had ended cooperation, expressing his public unhappiness with the Gap brand. By declaring that it is "taking urgent actions to remove Yeezy Gap merchandise from our shops" and shutting down the Yeezy Gap website," Gap responded that it had already taken action to terminate its association with Kanye West. Following these actions taken by brands, Adidas has ended its Kanye West relationship, with “immediate effect.”
This is the reason why Instagram and Twitter have locked Ye's accounts, JPMorgan Chase quit banking Yeezy's company, and Balenciaga won't be working together either.
Forbes adds up all "Kanye West's Antisemitic, Troubling Behavior" here in chronological order.
Brands and Kanye
When it comes to Kanye West, Balenciaga has been the most enduring relationship he's ever had. So far this has worked for both. Ye gave Balenciaga an air of conformity and a new audience. Balenciaga, on the other hand, helped Ye get the fashion he craved. Together they became a viral sensation.
On the other hand, these ideas are likely why Adidas, whose nearly 10-year partnership with Yeezy has been advantageous for both parties, released a statement acknowledging they've worked together in the past but stating that the partnership is coming to an end. In the statement, the sportswear maker said it “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech” and said that his recent comments were “unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous.” Adidas said they violated the company’s “values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.” The brand said terminating the deal is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to $246 million on the company’s net income in 2022.
However, putting out that fire may have started another. The brands have been left with significant amounts of unsold stock, tapping into the wider issue of textile waste in the fashion industry and raising concerns about sustainability experts. This behavior taken by Balenciaga and Adidas is especially true in the context of social and cultural changes over the past five years, when luxury brands have apologized for not being perceived as condoning prejudice or perpetuating their history of elitism and racism.
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