Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has joined with Demna, also formerly known as Demna Gvasalia, for a project called Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga. 

Gap has a spanning, 10-year contract with Ye—a smart move, as his small capsule with them in 2020, which featured the iconoclastic round jacket that now goes for thousands of dollars from resellers online, created more buzz for the retailer than they’d had in years. And Demna, for his part, has infused Balenciaga with powerful new energy. His debut couture collection for the house last year was seen as an utter triumph, successfully positioning the buzzy brand as a fashion leader for a new generation. 

The new collection will include an expansion of the round jacket concept into multiple colors and variations, as well as a series of slumped hoodies in a sedate rainbow. The first drop is expected in June, with a second later in 2022.

“There are very few people that I know, especially of Ye’s caliber, who really understand my work so well,” Demna told Vogue. “He makes me come out of my comfort zone and be a better designer. There’s no ego when we collaborate, just a mutual drive to evolve and do something great and new.” Although collaborations are de rigueur in the industry these days—Balenciaga itself recently joined with Gucci for the Balenciaga Hacker Project—Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga is bringing together so many elements of excellence, and has so much star power behind it, it’s hard to imagine anything other than massive success. 

And all this bombshell fashion news comes amidst the revelation that Ye and Uncut Gems actress Julia Fox are officially an item (he and ex-wife Kim Kardashian filed for divorce in February 2021). 

In a quick op-ed with Interview, Fox divulged the events around their first time meeting: It was in Miami on New Years Eve at a private party, and she and Ye’s crew had decided to fly that same night-into-day to NYC to see Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris. They eventually ended up at Mario Carbone’s restaurant, after which the multi-day first date ended with a shopping spree for Fox inside the pair’s Manhattan hotel room (procured by Ye’s magical ability to make couture appear out of thin air). In the article’s candid photos, the pair seem cuddly on couches and cute in their oversized Yeezy fits.

Is the world ready for this much change at once? Balenciaga at Gap prices, Ye and a new beau… V will wait and see!