Kanye West and Dov Charney Are Reportedly Teaming Up

The idea of Kanye West (aka Ye) and Dov Charney collaborating on a foray into menswear might look like a recently-completed Mad Lib sheet. (Assumably, the blanks to be filled in would be “disgraced celebrity,” “another disgraced celebrity” and “a type of clothing.”) But instead, it’s all too real, with two men whose days of wide acclaim are long behind them reportedly teaming up on a business venture.

That’s the gist of a new report from Puck’s Laura Sherman, who writes that she “can confirm that West has asked Charney to run the Yeezy business.” Sherman goes on to note that this isn’t the first time the two have worked together, and also notes that Charney’s clothing-world profile has been on the rise again in recent years with the launch of his followup to American Apparel, Los Angeles Apparel.

What’s less clear is what Yeezy will be making going forward, in the wake of Adidas ending its relationship with West, or if anyone will be willing to buy what the duo are selling. Sherman notes that Charney’s “own transgressive, controversy-stoking instincts are undiminished” — which, given West’s own penchant for troubling comments in the last few years, sounds ominous.

Please Stop Interviewing Kanye West

He’s repeatedly demonstrated that he doesn’t deserve a platform, and giving him one is just exploitation

It’s also worth wondering if Charney’s own troubling past was appealing to West. You may recall that last year, West worked extensively with Marilyn Manson in the wake of the latter being accused of rape — meaning that the controversial nature of West’s latest collaboration might be (for him) a feature rather than a bug.