Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga paused for Uvalde, then put all 25 looks on sale

yeezygap.com had the second Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga drop ready for 25 May 2022, and every product page carried the tag 052522. Then came the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the day before. On the morning of the launch the store put up a notice instead. “In light of the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, we are postponing the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga launch,” it read, CNN reported. It didn’t go live until 27 May.

When it did, it was the whole thing. Ye and Demna had released eight looks in February. On 27 May all 25 were on sale, Vogue reported, on yeezygap.com and through Balenciaga’s online partners Farfetch, Mytheresa and LuisaViaRoma. Gap’s store didn’t bother splitting the credit: every piece sat under one vendor name, YEEZY GAP BALENCIAGA.

Tight enough to see a heartbeat

The headline pieces were the Second Skins, fitted tanks and long sleeves in black and dark green. They’re an elastic polyester and spandex blend with a seamless pocket hidden in the chest. The tanks retailed at $60 and the long sleeves at $80.

“Fitted enough to nearly see the wearer’s heart beating.” Morgan Smith, Highsnobiety

For anyone who didn’t want to go that far, there was the Loose Tank Top. Highsnobiety pitched it at fans who weren’t interested in “channeling their faves’ action figure phase”. It retailed at $80, more than the skin-tight tank it was the alternative to.

A small label, not the arch

The tees went the other way: boxy. The Logo 3/4 Sleeve Tee and the Logo Longsleeve Tee don’t carry the big GAP arch at all, just a small square label on the chest. The Men’s Long John came with an elastic waist, and the Facemask was listed as unisex and final sale. It was still 2022.

Every page said YEEZY GAP BALENCIAGA. Less than four months later, Ye ended the Gap deal.