The artist formerly known as Kanye West (he now goes by just “Ye”) sits at a perplexing juncture as 2022 begins. Last year, Ye re-emerged as a titan of popular culture, releasing his first album in two years, continuing his adidas partnership, and delivering the first fruits of the highly anticipated Yeezy x GAP collaboration. Instead of debuting the partnership with a full collection, Ye and GAP delivered just two silhouettes in 2021, teasing what’s expected to be a larger offering this year. The two pieces to drop in 2021 were the Yeezy x GAP Round Jacket and Hoodie. So far, the Yeezy x GAP Round Jacket has been made available for purchase as a pre-order in three different colors. Over the last few weeks, the black colorways has begun to ship and sell on StockX, making it a timely selection for this week’s StockX Pick of the Week.
Yeezy x GAP delivered the partnership’s first piece of apparel, the blue colorway of the Round Jacket, via a shock drop in June of 2021, on Ye’s birthday. Just over a month later, Ye was seen wearing a black version of the jacket in Paris at the SS21 Balenciaga Men’s Show. The Jacket was made available for pre-sale just a few days later, releasing on GAP’s web-store shortly after the artist’s first Donda listening party. The red Yeezy x GAP Round Jacket received a nearly identical treatment, releasing online after Ye wore the jacket on stage at his second Donda listening event.
All three of the jackets were released with the noted caveat that they would not be shipped for several months after their release. So far, this has been the norm for the partnership, as the brand’s two hoodie releases have also been pre-orders. The blue and black Yeezy x GAP Round Jackets have now been shipped and delivered, each taking around five months to arrive post-purchase. If Yeezy x GAP is following the same timeline, the red jackets, having officially released in August, should be shipping any day now. Fans were originally not happy about having to wait so long to receive their jackets, but now that they’ve began to ship, that negative sentiment seems to have faded away.
The Yeezy x GAP Round Jacket has quickly become nearly as polarizing as the man who ideated it. Prior to the jackets delivery, fans were unsure what they should expect. The GAP product page featured only a short description of the jacket, detailing the garment’s material make up: 100% recycled nylon with poly-cotton fill. There was little to no sizing info and the jacket is entirely void of zippers, buttons, or any other form of frontal closure. Since arriving in the hands of Ye’s many fans and followers, Instagram has been flooded with images of those looking to set themselves apart from the crowd with a well-styled photo of the jacket – and the results have been mixed.
Most sentiment around the Yeezy x GAP Round Jacket has been negative. To say that the jacket is hard to style, while maybe a matter of skill, is an understatement. Most on the internet do not have good things to say. Critics of the jacket have been less than shy, referring to the black and blue colorways as trash bags and recycling bags in the comments section of those brave enough to post their new piece of outerwear.
But the negative sentiment has not deterred the internet’s best dressed from getting their fits off. The jacket’s one-of-a-kind fit doesn’t seamlessly work its way into the rotation of its wearers but those who’ve gone out of their way to build outfits specifically around the garment have found themselves successful. Most who’ve pulled it off successfully end up building a silhouette similar to that of Ye when he’s worn the jacket, which is an easy place to start when styling challenging product: mimic the creator. Usually this look involves a chunky sole, something like the recently released adidas Yeezy NSLTD Boot, and a more traditionally cut pair of pants, not too wide but also not too skinny. Even body positioning has a huge effect on the final look, changing the way the jacket fits, and ultimately narrowing the scope of a successful outcome.
If you’re looking to get ahead of the curve and take on Ye’s challenging Yeezy x GAP Round Jacket, all three colors can be shopped on StockX below.
