Balenciaga reportedly cuts ties with Ye following antisemitic remarks

French fashion house Balenciaga is said to have completely cut ties with the artist Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

It comes as the rapper-turned-entrepreneur made repeated antisemitic statements, first on Twitter and then in later interviews.

The luxury brand and its creative director Demna Gvasalia have collaborated with Ye on a line sold at Gap, with the performer also having recently walked for Balenciaga’s SS23 Paris Fashion Week show.

Following the appearance, Ye went on to host his own Yeezy show, which sparked controversy after he was spotted wearing a t-shirt with ‘White Lives Matter’ printed on the back, a slogan that is often linked with white supremacists.

Ye attempted to explain the reasoning behind the slogan’s use in an interview on Fox News, however later took to Instagram to slander anyone that had criticised the move, resulting in the performer being restricted on the app.

Controversy continued to follow Ye, as he went on to post threats targeting Jews on Twitter and made further false claims about the death of George Floyd during a ‘Drink Champs’ interview.

Ye’s partnership with Gap had also previously come to a head years ahead of the contracts end date, while his relationship with Adidas is currently “under review”, the sportswear giant said in a statement.

The moves came after Ye publicly accused the brands of breaching agreements, with him additionally standing by claims that Adidas had copied his designs and released styles without consulting him.

In a now deleted YouTube video, Ye was also seen in a meeting with Adidas execs where he shockingly showed a pornographic film in an attempt to draw parralels to how he felt he was treated by the company.

Now, it seems his connections with Balenciaga are the next to fall.

According to WWD, Balenciaga’s parent company Kering said the house would no longer be working on projects with Ye.

In a statement to the publication, Kering said: “Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist.”

Rumours of the split began circulating earlier this week when various reports had noted that the Yeezy Gap Engineered By Balenciaga collection had been removed from both the brand’s stores and website, as well as all global retailers.