The Mystery of the Yeezy X Gap Countdown

For a few hours Tuesday, hypebeasts and hopeful shoppers waited for a countdown on the Yeezy x Gap website to reach its end. And waited. And waited.

The timer had recently appeared on yeezygap.com, the site where Ye (the rapper formerly known as Kanye West) and the US retailer launched prior products including a puffer jacket and their hype-generating hoodie. It was originally set to expire earlier today, but in multiple instances, time was added to the countdown as it neared its end. Ultimately, the timer was replaced on the site with a prompt asking visitors to sign up for email updates.

Speculation swirled online about what the scheduled end of the countdown might bring, including that it could mark the first launch of the three-way collaboration between Ye, Gap and Balenciaga announced in January. Highsnobiety also posted what it said were pictures of the collaboration on its Instagram account with a caption stating they would be “available on yeezygap.com today.”

Gap did not reply to a request for comment.

The company has been looking to its collaboration with Ye as a way to attract new customers to the long-struggling brand. But the rollout of new products has so far been slow, frustrating some in the company, according to a recent report by the Financial Times.

It’s unclear why the countdown today was repeatedly changed, or if it has been rescheduled. Ye, who has a history of delaying music releases, was also expected to put out his latest album, “Donda 2,” today. Fans have so far been disappointed as it has yet to drop.

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