Gosha Rubchinskiy, a Russian designer, and the rapper formerly known as West, are joining forces. West, now known as Ye, has named Rubchinskiy head of design at the rapper's Yeezy brand, whose multi-billion-dollar sneaker deal with Adidas was terminated last year after Ye made a series of inflammatory statements. The cover artwork for the new album with Ty Dolla $ign was designed by Rubchinskiy, who began working with Ye a few months ago. Rubchinskiy told BoF that he was delighted to join the team as the head designer.
The belief that cultural products can create common ground in a polarised world where distrust and cancellation are common is at the core of a push to relaunch the Gosha Rubchinskiy brand. The label rocketed to success with a post-Soviet, skater-inflected concept backed by Comme des Garons before shuttering in 2018? Rubchinskiy parted ways with Comme des Garons and the Rassvet label last year, and has signed a deal with a new financial backer to rebuild his business. His first collection for the brand will be released next year. The label said that it was forging its own path away from the Comme des Garons and Rassvet family.