Co-marketing has become a common thing in the fashion industry. It would also seem like the stranger the mix, the better it is. Or so goes the theory. But is it always true? When we take a closer look at the relationship between Gap and Kanye West, started in 2020, we actually discover a few cracks. Here is more on this surprising relationship.
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From Exclusive to Affordable
The one thing that stood out, once the relationship was announced two years ago, was the difference in terms of public, between Kanye West’s collections and products he would create for Gap. His limited-collection editions had seen some of its articles be priced in the hundreds of thousands. In other words, unaffordable for most people shopping at Gap. How were these two worlds supposed to meet and would everyone be happy about it? Those were two questions at the time, that we are starting to get answers to.
Of course, in a world of digital marketing, everything can be taught of and made functional, simply by rebranding it. There are so many ways to do so, as we can learn on https://www.12handz.com/, that nothing is impossible anymore. But it doesn’t mean it is the best idea. That might be truer than anything else, when it comes to this strange relationship, since after two years, only two products were released. We are far from the $1.7 billion that Kanye West brought in, through his previous collaboration with Adidas. A great deception for Gap that was seeing this as a promising stepping stone towards becoming “hip” again.
What happened from the Start to Today
The relationship was taken very seriously by Gap. In fact, they spent a lot of money being involved in Kanye West’s shows, from Los Angeles to Atlanta. But as the first items of the collection were supposed to be launch in 2020, followed by a full line in 2021, only two made it out so far, which are a puffer jacket in various colours, that was launched in June 2021, followed by a hooded sweatshirt in September of the same year. Nothing to be too excited about for Gap, who was expecting much more. This has to be considered in the company’s context: It has been decades now that the brand is losing customers. They had to downsize and sacrifice many stores along the way. This co-marketing strategy with Kanye West was their hope at rekindling with youth, but so far it hasn’t done much for Gap.
The biggest issue seems to be Kanye West’s schedule (or lack of). He is known for being impulsive when it comes to creation. In other words, if nothing comes to his mind, then a void fills in where items should be. A huge fault for any designer. Then, West went on to say that Gap has been struggling to keep his items under the bar of $100, which is a definite issue for Gap customers. But on that subject, Gap has yet to confirm that it was true. Could it be a way out for West, in his incapacity to deliver his designs on time? One way or another, it definitely seems like this relationship is not heading in the right direction.
