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Kanye drops 'Donda 2' merch after messy listening party in Miami
A small run of merch is available for pre-order in addition to the delayed Balenciaga x Yeezy Gap capsule.
Tuesday night’s Donda 2 premiere turned out to be as chaotic as Kanye West’s behavior of late, as sound issues plagued the performance and the album failed to release as scheduled. Merchandising isn’t an issue, however, as a small run of black apparel is up for picking right on time.
A Donda 2 hoodie, cropped T-shirt, and balaclava are all up for pre-order through West’s website, with delivery scheduled in six to eight weeks. All three products are made in the U.S.A., which goes some way in explaining $200 for a hoodie and $100 for a tee each with a lit match up front and tonal “2” on the rear. More comical is the $60 asking price for a plain black balaclava. It’ll at least help you meet mask regulations, though, just as West was about the only one to do so at the Super Bowl.
The small capsule isn’t exactly the most thrilling of album merch from the artist now known as Ye, but he has enough fans that’ll support his every move without scrutiny to ensure everything he drops is another lucrative payday.
Balenciaga x Yeezy Gap was late, too — The highly anticipated collaboration of Balenciaga and Yeezy Gap finally went live today after a series of unexplained delays. A countdown that began Monday signaled the capsule’s release Tuesday afternoon, but, when the timer hit zero, more time was added on more than one occasion before the ticker was scrubbed altogether.
Now that the collab has arrived a day late, we can tell you that prices are relatively easy to stomach. $240 hoodies, $220 jeans, and $140 tees are inline with previous Yeezy Gap releases, and although the price range is hardly cheap, it’s still significantly more affordable than anything else with Balenciaga’s name attached.
Between the two product drops, there’s plenty of oversized, black garments to signify your Kanye West fandom to go around. Why you’d want to do that after witnessing weeks of abusive behavior toward his estranged wife in very public fashion is beyond me, but the sycophantic Yeezy machine must go on.