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Kanye West wants to be Gap's creative director.
The creative director position at Gap is currently vacant, after the ailing clothing retailer cut ties with Rebakka Bay. Now there's an unlikely candidate to fill the position: Kanye West.
In an exclusive interview with Style.com, conducted in New York last week as the rapper launched his Adidas Originals Collection, West revealed that one of his long-held dreams is to become the creative director at Gap.
Or, as he put it: "I'd like to be the Steve Jobs of Gap."
He went on to explain:
"Perhaps this is a bit of a demo tape. When I say Steve Jobs of the Gap, as I talk to the people at the Gap right now [leans into tape recorder], I'm not talking about a capsule. I'm talking about full Hedi Slimane creative control of the Gap is what I would like to do. And I can say this because it doesn't conflict with my Adidas contract. [laughs]"
This is not the first time Kanye has offered his services to Gap. In 2013 he approached Gap to discuss a collaboration. The discussions broke down early on, he told The New York Times.
"I went to the Gap and I said 'Lemme try to do something' and I couldn't get past the politics. And I'm like 'I'm telling you, I got it. I know it. I can do it. Gimme a shot.' Our first night [on the Yeezus Tour] we sold $83,000 in tour merch. Imagine if you take these thoughts and connect it with a corporation like the Gap."
Kanye even raps about working for Gap in "Spaceship" on the 2004 "The College Dropout" album. But it doesn't sound like he was a model employee. The (NSFW) lyrics go:
Man, man, man
If my manager insults me again, I will be assaulting him
After I f*** the manager up then I'm gonna shorten the register up
Let's go back, back to the Gap
Look at my check, wasn't no scratch
So if I stole, wasn't my fault
Yeah I stole they never got caught
They take me to the back and pat me
Asking me about some khakis
But let some black people walk in
I bet they show their token blackie
Oh now they love Kanye, let's put him in front of the store
So I quit, y'all welcome
This time around, however, there's every reason for Gap to give Kanye a trial. Gap's January sales fell 9% year on year, following months of sales declines as the company's "Dress Normal" advertising campaign fails to drum up interest from consumers. Perhaps the Kanye factor could inject some much-needed spark.