Kanye West has made a surprise return to X (formerly Twitter) and has brought with him a big announcement for his Yeezy brand.
In a post on the social media platform on Wednesday (December 13), West revealed that controversial Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy will now head up design for Yeezy.
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A statement read: “YEEZY welcomes Gosha Rubchinskiy as its new Head of Design today. The arrival of this legendary Russian designer at YEEZY, the pre-eminent brand in music and fashion, is a milestone in design history.”
Ye’s tweet included a link to his news platform Yews, which launched earlier this week. It’s his first post in over a year following his suspension from the platform over a swastika post.
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Rubchinskiy also commented on the announcement, saying: “We’re delighted to announce the new direction of the Gosha Rubchinskiy fashion brand as an independent creative powerhouse. Stepping away from the Comme des Garcon and Rassvet family, our brand is forging its own path.
“Under Gosha’s creative leadership we are set to embrace new exciting projects and collaborations that embrace our spirit of independence and creative drive. We’re thankful for the continuous support from our community that fuels our journey.”
https://t.co/3bToWVG5N7pic.twitter.com/MyYI8fbAMf
— ye (@kanyewest) December 13, 2023
Gosha Rubchinskiy, 39, is seemingly responsible for designing the merch and controversial cover art for Kanye West’s upcoming collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures.
The cover has been accused of having links to Nazism because of its use of an artwork by German painter Caspar David Friedrich, who was a favorite artist of Hitler.
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The cover also features typeface reminiscent of that used by neo-Nazi metal band Burzum.
Rubchinskiy, once one of the most acclaimed fashion designers in the world, has also faced his fair share of controversy after being accused of soliciting naked pictures from a 16-year-old boy in 2018.
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Rubchinskiy denied the accusations and claimed screenshots of the messages had been doctored to make him look bad.
In a statement at the time, he said: “This exchange as depicted on the Instagram post of Supreme leaks news has been altered and taken out of context. It is clear there has been modifications and deletions to make it look bad where in fact it was a simple request for a photo to facilitate the street casting.
“The person started contacting us very often demanding an answer about the casting and became a bit weird. So Gosha blocked him and we think this is why the person is trying to make Gosha look bad, and turn what was a totally innocent street casting look something that it was not.
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“We have been doing such direct street casting for ten years and we have never had such a problem, therefore this is invalid.”
As well as his eponymous line, Rubchinskiy is known for founding PACCBET and his collaborations with adidas, Burberry and Fila.
