One way to think about the whole Ye-Drake, Donda versus Certified Lover Boy schism was as a glorified merch battle. And now, we've got a merch-involved detente. Though Ye and Drake
duked it out all summer and fall, the duo came together on Thursday evening for the “Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert,” an Amazon-sponsored streaming event, to perform hits new and old. It was a night of friendship, and also of gear: Ye and Drake squashed their beef, while Ye and Balenciaga designer Demna (who both recently went mononymous) paired up to make more merch.
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The latter duo were capping off a year of serious collaboration: the Balenciaga creative director (and GQ’s designer of the year) has been outfitting Ye, as well as his estranged wife Kim Kardashian, for much of 2021, partnering through the Donda album cycle to release commemorative and highly covetable wares. This time around, they created a #FreeHoover capsule “engineered by Balenciaga.” Starting Friday and running for 72 hours, customers in the U.S. can purchase via an Amazon Fashion microsite. The collection comprises a $200 hoodie, $100 tee, $160 baseball tee, $60 hat, $360 Squid Game-y jumpsuit, and $400 upcycled jeans. (Lest we forget, Demna’s been putting sans-serif text on old Levi’s since his Vetements days.) All but the hat and jeans come in a baby blue hue, and like other recent Yeezy releases, the drop is for preorder; customers can expect items to be shipped within six to 10 weeks.
