Kanye West is defending his decision to display his new Yeezy line in garbage bags at GAP stores after critics complained that he was mocking homeless people.
The rapper appeared on Fox & Friends Thursday morning where he said 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 told Fox & Friends.
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.
Last week, the father-of-four sparked controversy for saying on his Instagram account that inspiration behind his fashion label, Yeezy, was ‘the homeless.’
Twitter users expressed confusion over his bizarre vision after photos were posted of his clothing stuffed in large black bags, rather than on hangers or neatly folded in piles.
Unbelievable: Kanye West has been 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
Raising eyebrows: In response to photos of his clothing stuffed in large black bags, rather than hangers or neatly folded piles, Twitter users expressed confusion over his bizarre vision; seen in March 2022
Poking fun: Upon seeing pictures of his latest clothing line, which he revealed was ‘inspired by the homeless’ last week on Instagram, the public were quick to joke ‘Kanye got people thrifting at Gap’
The backlash was sparked by a tweet, penned by Owen Langan, who shared a snap of the disheveled merchandise as well as a claim that a ‘sales associate said Ye got mad when he saw they had it on hangers and this is how he wanted it.’
He added: ‘They won’t help you find [your] size too, you just have to just dig through everything.’
Upon seeing pictures of his latest clothing line, which he revealed was ‘inspired by the homeless’ last week on Instagram, the public were quick to joke ‘Kanye got people thrifting at Gap.’
Others pointed out ‘workin at Yeezy Gap is gonna be hell’ and as a former Gap employee he ‘knows what he’s doing.’
‘Kanye has a whole song about how much he hated working at the Gap. Why would he make Gap employees’ lives harder? Whole store is about to look like laundry baskets threw up. They’re gonna have one cashier and everybody else doing recovery,’ another fired.
Still, one Twitter user suggested that he was trying to ‘eliminate the maddening perpetual cycle of constantly refolding and hanging and presenting clothing to a corporate vision standard.’
‘The things people let Kanye get away with is wild lol. Those Gap jackets and Yeezy boots are ugly, but cuz it has his name on it, people will sport it,’ one social media user quipped.
Social experiment? The backlash was sparked by a tweet, penned by Owen Langan, who shared a snap of the disheveled merchandise as well as a claim that a ‘sales associate said Ye got mad when he saw they had it on hangers and this is how he wanted it’
In January, a Yeezy GAP spokesperson told The Post: ‘Ye has a deep and solution-oriented commitment to addressing issues surrounding homelessness’ (pictured November 2021)
‘Workin at Yeezy Gap is gonna be hell,’ one social media user joked
‘Kanye has a whole song about how much he hated working at the Gap. Why would he make Gap employees’ lives harder? Whole store is about to look like laundry baskets threw up. They’re gonna have one cashier and everybody else doing recovery,’ another fired
‘Kanye’s hatred for the GAP still one one of my favorite storylines,’ another joked
Controversial: Others pointed out ‘workin at Yeezy Gap is gonna be hell’ and as a former Gap employee he ‘knows what he’s doing’
Kanye’s Instagram post about the homeless being his inspiration prompted fans to suggest ‘instead of using the homeless as inspiration for design, you should be helping them get out of homelessness.’
‘Sounds like exploitation of the powerless,’ another person wrote.
In January, a Yeezy GAP spokesperson told The Post: ‘Ye has a deep and solution-oriented commitment to addressing issues surrounding homelessness.’
In November 2021, Kanye met with charitable organizations and came up with strategies in an attempt to ease the rampant problem in the city, according to TMZ.
The housing crisis has been a huge issue for Los Angeles and as of January 2020, there were more than 66,400 homeless people in Los Angeles County, with 41,000 within LA city limits, including thousands on Skid Row, according to the city’s most recent homeless count. The city’s estimated homeless population is second only to New York’s.
While the homeless population was once largely confined to the notorious Skid Row neighborhood in downtown, rows of tents, cardboard shelters, battered RVs and makeshift plywood structures are now familiar sights throughout the nation’s second-most populous city.