Gap is seeking over $2M from Kanye West to cover potential damages incurred in lawsuit accusing retail giant of breach of contract
Gap is seeking over $2million from Kanye West in order to cover costs they may incur in a lawsuit accusing them of modifying a leased Yeezy storefront without permission.
The retail giant is being sued by the commercial real estate company, Art City Center, who owns the building located in Downtown Los Angeles, for allegedly making ‘numerous, significant, unapproved’ changes.
Gap leased the property from April 2021 to September 2022 — which is when West abruptly terminated his partnership with the brand — and paid over $104,000 in rent per month, as per RadarOnline.
As part of their agreement, Gap was not allowed to modify the building without seeking approval from the company.
In a suit filed in October 2022, Art City Center demanded that Gap hand over $1.5million to restore the venue.
But the clothing brand insists all changes were made by West without their approval and filed a separate lawsuit in April against the rapper to cover any potential damages as well as attorneys’ fees.
Gap is seeking over $2million from Kanye West in order to cover costs they may incur in a lawsuit accusing them of modifying a leased Yeezy storefront without permission; seen in 2019
The retail giant is being sued by the commercial real estate company, Art City Center, who owns the building located in Downtown Los Angeles, for allegedly making ‘numerous, significant, unapproved’ changes
Gap alleges that their contract with West states they are not to be held liable for ‘any claims brought due to Yeezy’s acts or omissions.’
‘The performance of the work not only breached the Strategic Agreement, but the manner of preparing for and performing the work caused the need for the repairs and restoration alleged in the complaint,’ the court filing reads.
They further suggest that West was in breach of contract by ‘making and not repairing or restoring the foregoing alterations’ which then ‘directly and proximately caused Gap to incur expenses to repair and restore the premises.’
West signed a 10-year contract with Gap in 2020 but pulled the plug on their partnership late last year, alleging that the brand breached their agreement by not releasing apparel as planned, or opening stores.
Soon after, Yeezy Gap merchandise was pulled from shelves and online.
A letter issued by the artist’s lawyers to the company was shared by West to his Instagram on September 15.
It claimed that Gap company was required to sell 40% of the Yeezy Gap merch in stores during the latter part of 2021.
But the clothing brand insists all changes were made by West without their approval and filed a separate lawsuit in April against the rapper to cover any potential damages as well as attorneys’ fees; seen in 2022
The drama: West signed a 10-year contract with Gap in 2020 but pulled the plug on their partnership late last year, alleging that the brand breached their agreement by not releasing apparel as planned, or opening stores
Interesting: A letter issued by the artist’s lawyers to the company was shared by West to his Instagram on September 15
Only one item from the collection went on sale last fall, and it was only available online and not in a store.
No Yeezy Gap stores have opened yet; the company was required to open five retail shops by July 31, 2023.
The Yeezy Gap by Balenciaga merch debuted in stores in July 2022 and it was suggested in the letter that merchandise made in collaboration with Balenciaga for Gap would not be affected.
Kanye has claimed that Gap cut him out of meetings as well as the creative process and does not promote the collection.
Three months after he signed the deal, Kanye threatened to withhold his line unless he got a board seat.
Last August, Kanye criticized Gap and spoke to its executives directly: ‘You have to really give me the position to be Ye and let me do what I’m thinking, or I have to do the thinking somewhere else.’
That same month, Kanye came under fire after he made the decision to display his new Yeezy line in garbage bags at GAP stores after critics complained that he was mocking homeless people.
The rapper told FOX News’ Eric Shawn at the time that he was just trying to challenge conventional traditions in the way we dress and make clothing that’s more egalitarian and not pretentious.
‘I’m an innovator and I’m not here to sit up and apologize for my ideas,’ Kanye said.
He also pointed out that the bags are not ‘garbage’ bags but actually construction bags and the reason for the bags is so people can informally reach in and grab what they want to buy – adding that the goal is to make life easier and informal so we can all, basically, dress in the dark.
The father-of-four also sparked controversy for saying on his Instagram account that inspiration behind his fashion label, Yeezy, was ‘the homeless.’
In January 2022, a Yeezy GAP spokesperson told The Post: ‘Ye has a deep and solution-oriented commitment to addressing issues surrounding homelessness.’
Gap’s suit against West comes just one month after the company revealed that it planned to cut hundreds of staff from its global workforce to slash costs and streamline the company amid plans to cull 350 stores across the US by the end of the year.
Striking: Some of the most sought-after items are hoodies and T-Shirts which have the iconic Gap block lettering on the front and and image of a dove printed on the back
Fashion: Designs made by the star had a bit of a shadowy undertone
Wow: West was previously roasted on social media after fans complained that his new Yeezy line for GAP has been displayed in trash bags, at the rapper’s own request, last year
The latest round of cuts are part of a restructuring to make the iconic American fashion brand ‘more nimble and less bureaucratic’.
Gap laid off around 500 corporate employees mainly in its San Francisco and New York offices in September as part of efforts to save $250million a year.
The retailer saw net sales fall by six per cent to $15.6billion for the fiscal year that ended on January 28 and swung to a loss of $202million from a profit of $256million the year before.
Gap was previously among the biggest operators of mall stores in country but the brand has been decimated since the pandemic and it has closed 299 stores across the North America since October 2020.
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