According to a story from WWD on Friday, Ye and Balenciaga are no longer working together after Ye made several antisemitic remarks in recent interviews. Following yesterday’s release of its third-quarter results, the brand’s parent company, Kering, released a statement with the information. The succinct statement states, “Balenciaga has no longer any affiliation with this artist and has no intentions for future projects relating to this artist.” This morning, the company declined to provide an immediate follow-up statement.
Ye and Demna, the creative director of Balenciaga who also goes by his first name, have a successful working history together. Kim Kardashian, Ye’s ex-wife, and Demna have collaborated frequently. Kim Kardashian appeared in Balenciaga advertisements. Ye announced that he will “take Demna from Balenciaga” back in 2016. However, the designer did collaborate with him for his Donda 2 tour last summer, and in January, they unveiled Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga. Of course, that never actually occurred. Demna once remarked to Vogue, “There are very few individuals I know, especially of Ye’s quality, who understand my work so thoroughly. He challenges me to step outside of my comfort zone and improve as a designer. When we work together, there is no ego present; instead, there is a shared desire to advance and create something amazing. Ye ended his collaboration with Gap last month, but his designs are still on the market, albeit occasionally at a discount.
Ye launched the summer 2023 Balenciaga show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, which was held in a mud pit. He held his YZY event in Paris during the same week, which included a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt. Then, he started harassing the company’s detractors on Instagram, dividing himself from other people in the business. Because of his antisemitic remarks, he has subsequently been banned from Twitter and Instagram, and his relationship with Adidas is “under review.”
Kanye has always had a push-and-pull relationship with the fashion business; however, it is still unclear whether this is the tipping point for his connection with the industry. Kanye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 and some have claimed he looks to be displaying symptoms of mania.