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Brace yourself, the Yeezy x Gap reviews are coming
Sixteen months after news first broke of Kanye and Gap’s remarkable 10-year partnership, the first products of the Yeezy x Gap era began touching down on doorsteps this past week. Unsurprisingly, reviews and hot takes of the self-described Perfect Hoodie™️ have been spreading like wildfire across streetwear and hypebeast circles, with purchasers eager to issue verdict on whether the garment lives up to its vaunted name.
From Vetements to Bape and Rick and Morty, hoodies have long been closely tied to the Kanye fashion lineage — arguably the second most contentiously debated garment in his wardrobe behind, of course, sneakers. A few months before putting pen to paper with Gap in 2020, the artist mused to the Wall Street Journal about crafting the ideal hooded sweatshirt.
Understandably, living up to such a title within the confines of a struggling mass market retailer is a task easier said than done. The first review to gain traction online came by way of TikTok user @rummage_reviews who revealed the apparent similarity in sizing between a small and medium sized hoodie.
Comparisons were also quickly made to the next-most-recent Kanye hoodie, the rolls eyesKanye 2020 presidential merch. That hoodie seems to be universally declared as superior in quality compared to the Gap garm (at least the campaign was good for something?).
The 2020 merch did clock in at nearly double the $90 price point of the Gap hoodie which alludes to the crux of nearly every debate around the hoodie: price. For reference, the average mainline Gap hoodie is listed at $55 (at the time of writing, however, nearly every men’s hoodie on the website has a 50% markdown).
Other comparable reference points are the internet’s longtime favorite quality-for-your-buck Champion Reverse Weave ($60) and the popular 14 oz hoodie from Los Angeles Apparel ($74).
With those similar costs in mind, there have been a number of satisfied customers to come forward pegging the Yeezy x Gap hoodie as on-par with comparable models while costing less than your average overly branded streetwear piece. Buyers less invested in the novelty of owning a piece of Kanye West lore seem by and large let down by the so-called elevated basic (we’d also like to acknowledge this insane, long-winded review where a Reddit user claims the hoodie broke his washing machine).
The thesis of Yeezy Gap is a familiar, albeit unfortunately boring, one. For Kanye fans looking to secure a piece from the artist’s famed clothing line, the Gap collab is an affordable point of contact. For those whom the Yeezy name carries less significance, your money is probably best spent elsewhere (a not-dissimilar dynamic seen within Uniqlo, a mass market clothier that often collabs with designers like Jil Sander, JW Anderson and more).
Neither party is in the wrong here. The value of any piece of clothing is relative to the significance placed upon it by its owner (cue Pawn Stars music) but these lines of are likely to get blurred and vomited into debate during every subsequent Yeezy x Gap release for *checks notes* the next eight and a half years.
Quick links
👉 The piece of clothing you returned online probably got thrown away, the Atlantic reports
👉 Droughts and heat waves (read: climate change) are causing cotton prices to rise, which will likely soon affect consumer clothing prices
👉 Kanye wears Crocs to lunch with Anna Wintour
Here's a trend report
A look ahead
👟 C.P. Company x adidas Spezialsdrop Wednesday, October 13
👟 END x Reebok Beatniks dropFriday, October 15
🛍 Marine Serre's Fall / Winter '21 collectiondrops on Seasons on Monday, October 18
