Kanye West linked with retail store chain

Kanye West looks set to open his own chain of retail stores. The Stronger rapper, who has legally changed his name to Ye, and his legal team have filed an application to trademark ‘YZYSPLY’ for shops, online ordering services and online retail services, with the request covering clothing items including shirts, socks, hats, visors, G-strings and even tennis wear, as well as “accessories” including footwear and headwear, TMZ reports.

The Jesus Walks hitmaker, who has four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, has previously sold his limited-release shoes and clothing items from the website Yeezy Supply, but the filing suggests the rapper has a more longterm plan in mind.

Last month,

West released his first collection with Gap, with the range largely comprised of all-black items, including a full-face mask, T-shirts and a onesie.

The first item made available for YEEZY GAP was a blue puffer jacket without fasteners, retailing at US$200.

Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that West is being sued for failing to return rented clothing. He has been accused of failing to return 13 “rare esteemed pieces” to David Casavant after he loaned 49 garments from the fashion archivist in March 2020.

The David Cassavant Archive claimed West returned the other 36 garments with no issue but, by the end of October 2020, he stopped paying the weekly fees on the remaining 13 pieces.

The 31-year-old stylist is seeking US$221,000 in unpaid rental fees and an additional $ 195,000 to replace the missing items.