Kanye West defends selling "homeless" inspired Gap line out of construction bags

When it comes to Kanye West’s streetwear brand Yeezy, one man’s trash (bag) really is another man’s treasure. In a new interview, West publicly defends his choice to sell his label’s highly sought-after collaboration with Gap out of large black construction bags, a decision some on Twitter criticized as appropriating poverty to sell high-end hoodies. In a now-deleted Instagram post (which The Los Angeles Times reported), West stated that he found inspiration for the line in “children” and “the homeless.”

Speaking with Fox News, West defended his aesthetic choices, explaining that he has no interest in deriding the homeless but does hope to challenge the conventional trappings of fashion with more egalitarian clothing.

“Look man, I’m an innovator and I’m not here to sit up and apologize about my ideas,” West says. “That’s exactly what the media tries to do, make us apologize for any idea that doesn’t fall under exactly the way they want us to think.”

Mass awareness of the unique in-store rollout of Yeezy Gap initially came from a viral tweet by user @owen__lang, who shared a photo of the hobo-chic scene at one store location. “The sales associate said Ye got mad when he saw they had it on hangers and this is how he wanted it,” the tweet reads. “They won’t help you find ur size too, you just have to just dig through everything.”

“This is like not a joke, this is not a game, this is not just some celebrity collaboration, this is my life,” West shares in the Fox News clip, his face partially shielded by a simple black Gap flat brim. “I’m fighting for a position to be able to change clothing and bring the best design to the people.” He also shares his disdain for people who “clown the creators” like himself trying new (albeit easily meme-able) design formats.

According to interviewer Eric Shawn, West says it was “God’s plan” to have him share his thoughts on Fox News. Though a Fox & Friends spot for West to defend his clothing line from online haters seems far from a heavenly priority, who knows—if God really was just a slob like one of us, don’t you think He’d be on Twitter?