High-powered fashion house Balenciaga has reportedly cut ties with Kanye West, swiftly ending West’s most powerful and prevalent business relationship.
Balenciaga parent company Kering said Thursday that the prominent French fashion house will no longer be working with West on any projects. The announcement came less than three weeks after West wore a shirt that read “White Lives Matter” at Paris Fashion Week, where he opened Balanciaga’s Summer 2023 fashion show. Since then, West has attracted further controversy for a series of antisemitic statements.
“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” Kering said, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
Kanye West has just had one of his most important relationships in the fashion world ended … Balenciaga has reportedly cut ties with Ye. https://t.co/QCjSOQzB50
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 21, 2022
Kering didn’t specifically name the reason they decided to end their deal with West, but they’ve moved quickly in scrubbing West from their advertising. An image of West wearing battle gear and a branded mouthguard during Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week show has already been removed from the brand’s website.
West recently collaborated with Balenciaga’s artistic director Demna to promote his Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga line, and both West and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, have maintained a close, personal relationship with Demna, according to Women’s Wear Daily. (RELATED: You’re A Bully’: Gigi Hadid Slams Kanye West For His Tirade Against Fashion Editor)
Balenciaga has severed ties with Kanye West
“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist” https://t.co/v6ejH3HcCI
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 21, 2022
West has been under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks after he appeared on stage at the YZY Show in Paris while wearing a shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter,” written prominently on the back. Since then, West terminated his partnership with Gap Inc., and his contract with Adidas has been placed under review, according to Women’s Wear Daily. He has also publicly lashed out at a fashion editor and has been suspended from Twitter for violating its policies on hate speech.