Balenciaga Cuts Ties With Kanye West Amid Controversies

The 45-year-old rapper and designer recently walked in the brand's Paris Fashion Week show.

Balenciaga is moving on from its collaboration with Kanye "Ye" West. Kering, the parent company for the luxury brand, confirmed the split in a statement to Women's Wear Daily on Friday. 

“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” Kering says. 

Balenciaga previously collaborated with West on his line, which was sold at Gap before he ended the partnership. He also walked in the French fashion house's summer 2023 show for Paris Fashion Week earlier this month. 

Balenciaga's creative director, Demna, has a long-standing relationship with both West and his ex, Kim Kardashian, dressing the reality star in her infamous face-covered 2021 Met Gala look. 

In fact, after West walked in the Paris Fashion Week show, which was set in a mud pit, Kardashian posted several photos to her Instagram of her lying in the dirt in Balenciaga looks, writing, "When I couldn’t make it to the @balenciaga show @demna sent the show to me." 

Shortly after walking in the Balenciaga show, West made headlines with his controversial "White Lives Matter" shirt for his own Paris Fashion Week Show. 

He followed that up with a series of anti-Semitic posts and comments, which led to his social media accounts being locked. 

ET has reached out to reps for both Balenciaga and Ye for comment. 

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