Rapper Kanye West smiles during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss criminal justice reform at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2018.
Rapper Kanye West smiles during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss criminal justice reform at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2018. Reuters / KEVIN LAMARQUE

KEY POINTS

  • Photos surfaced showing the clothes from Kanye West's latest collection being sold out of trash bags in Gap stores
  • An eyewitness claimed West wanted his clothes to be placed in black trash bags, forcing customers to dig through them
  • Critics slammed the rapper-turned-fashion designer for using homeless people as "fashion muses"

Kanye West is raising eyebrows with the way he is allegedly selling his new Yeezy Gap collection.

The 45-year-old rapper is in hot water again after photos surfaced showing the clothes from his latest collection being sold out of trash bags in Gap stores, Page Six reported.

An unnamed New York-based eyewitness shared on Twitter a snap showing disheveled merchandise stuffed into large black garbage bags on the floor of a Gap store.

The Twitter user claimed that Kim Kardashian's ex-husband wanted his clothes to be placed in black trash bags instead of displayed on hangers.

"This is how they are selling Yeezy GAP," the eyewitness tweeted. "The sales associate said Ye got mad when he saw they had it on hangers and this is how he wanted it. They won't help you find [your] size too, you just have to just dig through everything."

The photo sparked backlash online, with several critics slamming the rapper-turned-fashion designer for using homeless people as "fashion muses."

"Balenciaga and Kanye's fetish with the homeless as 'fashion muses' [is] everything that is wrong with billionaires... They no longer see the plight of people, they don't see humans that are suffering, they see opportunities to be 'edgy' and profit from it...it's disgusting," one person claimed.

"I saw this s--t at Gap in Houston. As a former visuals manager, I can say this would make me quit my job if I were still on the visuals team," a second user tweeted.

"This is like trying to shop at Ross, Marshall's or a flea market. Making people 'work' to buy your merchandise isn't necessarily the smartest option. It limits the number of people who will buy it," DEI/Ethics advocate attorney Bari A. Williams commented.

But fans of West and other social media users came to the artist's defense, saying that they appreciated West's vision and claiming that the setup in other stores is not as messy as that in the photo that went viral.

"Everything was folded, and they helped find sizes," one person tweeted. sharing photos of neatly folded items inside a big black trash bag in a Gap store, whose location was not disclosed.

"I'm not mad at it. Changing things up is fun and different," a second person added.

"I don't care for Kanye as a person, but I like what he's doing here. He's making big money making rich people buy clothes like poor people," another wrote.

This comes days after West shared a cryptic message about his personal design aesthetic via Instagram Friday.

"Look to the children...Look to the homeless...As the biggest inspiration for all design," the post read, with stark white letters against a black backdrop.

In January, rumors surfaced that West had been scouting Skid Row for models to star in a collaborative clothing line and runway show with Skid Row Fashion Week apparel. The production was said to have been largely inspired by the inhabitants of Los Angeles' neglected Skid Row.

However, a Yeezy Gap spokesperson denied the claims that West had such a project in the works.

"Ye has a deep and solution-oriented commitment to addressing issues surrounding homelessness," the rep told New York Post. "But this reported event is not on our schedule at this time nor are we aware of any product collaboration in development."

Kanye West, shown here at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, is in the running for five Grammys in 2022 -- but whether he will perform is up in the air
Kanye West, shown here at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, is in the running for five Grammys in 2022 -- but whether he will perform is up in the air AFP / Jean-Baptiste Lacroix