The lines of people waiting to get inside Kanye West’s Pablo pop-up shop at the Fashion Show mall this weekend didn’t quite resemble a typical Saturday Air Jordan release, but it was close. Crowds wrapped a hallway of the mall on the Las Vegas Strip—and outside for a short period of time—while waiting to enter the rapper, producer and designer’s second official merchandise release tied to his latest album, The Life of Pablo. On Friday, the temporary shop hit 21 cities worldwide including Atlanta, Cape Town, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Miami.
In classic ‘Ye style, the store was very minimalist with white painted walls and a black and white sign that read “Las Vegas,” where several shoppers could be seen taking Snapchat videos and photos while the album played, bringing the vibes.
Although West has been criticized with detractors claiming his Yeezy collection is overpriced, fans acknowledged that the pop-up shop was more reasonable, with prices ranging from $55 for a T-shirt and up to $325 for a military jacket.
“It’s more affordable than the Yeezy line and more easily accessible,” said Canaan Barber, 25, who waited in line for nearly five hours. “The exclusiveness brings more excitement … I came for the experience.”
West’s team also attempted to make it difficult to resell the exclusive merchandise—most items have “Las Vegas” printed on them—by only allowing customers to buy the same size of any single item. Shoppers also had to circle their selections on a piece of paper that showed photos of each item before entering the store. However, there didn’t seem to be a time limit once shoppers got inside. Later this weekend, Boulevard Mall store Urban Necessities appeared to be reselling some of the merch, including those $55 T-shirts for $100 and $45 hats for $85.
If this pop-up event proved anything, it’s the power of Kanye.
Another fan celebrated her 23rd birthday waiting in line to experience the shop. “This became my birthday plan. I’m obsessed with Kanye West, anything about him,” said Alyssa Reynolds. Not surprisingly, she purchased a shirt that read, “I Love Kanye Like Kanye Loves Kanye.”
West’s Saint Pablo tour begins August 25 in Indianapolis and will stop in Las Vegas for its penultimate show on October 29 at T-Mobile Arena.
