In many ways, Kanye West is a man of habit. So, when he wears variations on the same uniform for months on end (these days, that means a Yeezy Gap-style hoodie under Balenciaga outerwear, with well-worn jeans tucked into some aggro boots), holds power meetings at several Sant Ambroeus locations in Manhattan, goes to Carbone with Julia Fox twice in one week (in two different cities!), and buys out every Balenciaga store along the Eastern Seaboard, it’s all par for the course. He's just doing the stuff he loves—until he's doing something a little more.
Things are moving fast in the Ye multiverse, but keep in mind that the cryptic, dizzying lead-ups to a big announcement is another one of his signature moves. Last night, Interview magazine ran a photoshoot featuring Ye and Fox canoodling at the aforementioned upscale Italian spot (and elsewhere), and an accompanying communiqué from Fox illuminated some of the goings-on. Turns out that, despite his ongoing creative kinship with Demna, Ye pondering contrapposto inside the Miami Balenciaga store on Monday wasn’t merely routine. Instead, it seems that he’d been securing a hotel-roomful of clothes with which to surprise Fox, whom he met in the city on New Year’s Eve. Ever since then, Fox has been sporting Balenciaga for most public outings—not unlike Ye’s estranged wife, Kim Kardashian. (It's worth noting, as keen fashion eye José Criales-Unzueta pointed out, that much of the clothing Fox wears in the shoot is Diesel, not Balenciaga. Another breadcrumb, perhaps?)
This morning, Ye himself confirmed a new collaboration is in the works, one that merges two of his current creative partnerships: Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga, an upcoming expansion on Ye’s 10-year deal with the mall retailer that falls in line with Ye and Demna’s longtime shared interests in utilitarian fashion and mass-culture sensibility. (And what speaks to that more than a juicy, late-night, unexpected-celebrity-couple photoshoot?) A Vogue report says that the first drop is expected in June.
“There are very few people that I know, especially of Ye’s caliber, who really understand my work so well,” Demna told Vogue. “He makes me come out of my comfort zone and be a better designer. There’s no ego when we collaborate, just a mutual drive to evolve and do something great and new.”