Kanye West’s Travelling Pop-Up Shop Arrives In Melbourne

September 8, 2014

Kanye West recently touched down in Melbourne and in addition to the usual waves of excitement, the rapper is bringing his famous pop-up shop. The Victorian capital is the latest city to receive one of West’s pop-up merch stores. They’ve previously been staged in Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago.

West is set to kick off the first of two Melbourne performances at Rod Laver Arena tomorrow night and in the lead-up to the highly anticipated show, several members of the superstar’s entourage have taken to social media to tease fans with the news that Melbourne will be getting the full Yeezus experience.

Fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo, fellow designer Virgil Abloh, and West’s personal touring barber and close friend, Ibn Jasper, have all taken to Instagram to share images of the upcoming store, with an official location and opening hours expected to be announced via West’s official Twitter channel soon.

According to Tone Deaf, a mysterious all-white shop front has opened at 336 Chapel St in South Yarra, with suited-up security guards placed outside. The store’s appearance reportedly matches that of previous pop-up shops that West has opened in other cities on his acclaimed Yeezus world tour.

The shops, which are traditionally adorned with a Yeezus Tour logo installation and a dirt bike placed in the middle of the store, were inspired by California hip-hop group Odd Future, who famously use pop-up stores to sell tour merchandise and other exclusive OF-branded items like skateboards and more.

Meanwhile, West’s own stores have stuck to moving official Yeezus Tour merchandise. The merch stirred controversy back in November of last year after some, including legendary rapper Q-Tip, took issue with the “Confederate flag” prominently featured on many of the items in the merchandise range.