Number Crunch

Kanye West Is One Step Closer to Becoming the ‘Steve Jobs of Gap’

How the rapper-turned-designer is revolutionizing the face of Gap with his latest Yeezy drop

$200: That’s how much Gap’s first piece of clothing with Yeezy is retailing for since rapper and fashion designer Kanye West inked a 10-year deal with the retail giant last year.

Limited edition crossover products often arrive with huge levels of hype and quickly attract a price to match. To date, we’ve seen everything from $90,000 Oreos to various pairs of shoes selling for thousands, including the Nike Yeezy 2 Red that was priced at $7,500. Brand collaborations typically drive high prices due to high demand and limited supply.

So, when Gap x Yeezy finally launched the first product in its highly anticipated line with a $200 price tag, its positioning at a relatively affordable price-point was surprising. The bright blue nylon puffer jacket, devoid of any type of fasteners on the front, launched for pre-order on Kanye’s 44th birthday to much fanfare. Over 50,000 hype-induced buyers descended on the launch site in the first 30 minutes — some of the highest levels of traffic ever experienced by the website — causing temporary crashes.