On Friday, Aug. 19, Kanye West had a big surprise for his metro Detroit supporters and fans this weekend. He opened up a tour-themed pop-up shop at Lakeside Mall located in Sterling Heights, Michigan, a metro Detroit suburb. He has already done well with a pop-up shop in New York, which reportedly brought in over one million dollars over a three-day weekend, and he also plans on opening more pop-up shops in other major U.S. cities that include Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Las Vegas.Stores in Berlin, Sydney, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam have been opened as well. The pop-up shop at Lakeside Mall will be open to the public today, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Aug. 21 from noon to 6 p.m.
West’s Life of Pablo-themed merchandise is giving Detroit a taste of his new fashions. West’s fans formed a lengthy line that wrapped around other stores and had customers flocking to the door to experience the Life of Pablo exclusives. Initially, the store only let three people in at a time, in order to maintain the over capacitated crowd. Security officers made sure to keep the momentum going in a timely fashion. Fans who entered the store were not allowed to touch anything or try any items on until a purchase was made.
During the long wait, dedicated fans were given a number and a Life of Pablo merchandise menu to preview the items of choice. Before purchasing and entering, fans were told to circle the items of choice with an L or XL written next to it to mark their sizes. Sales associates were also styled in West’s fashions and represented the Life of Pablo in their own unique way.
Fans from the metro Detroit area came from far and wide to support the rapper-fashion mogul. Two such fans were Irene and Marcellus from Belleville, Michigan, another Detroit metro suburb which is approximately 50 miles from Lakeside Mall. Irene and Marcellus shared with rolling out their pre Life of Pablo experience:
Where are you guys from?
Irene: We’re from Belleville, Michigan. It’s about 50 minutes from Lakeside mall.
Do you plan on going to the concert?
Marcellus: Yes, of course!
How much did you spend on Life of Pablo merchandise?
Marcellus: About $250 for three items! It was so worth it!
Kanye West is set to appear at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Sept. 28 and The Palace of Auburn Hills on Oct. 6.
Photo gallery credit: Kristina Mitchell for Steed Media
