Fashion

Barneys + Jay Z Get Their Happy Ending, Sort Of

by Tori Telfer

Called it! Jay Z will not be backing out of his luxe NYC-themed Barneys holiday collaboration, even after nasty allegations of racial profiling were brought to light against the department store. But don't worry, the story has a happy ending — well, as happy as we can reasonably expect, given the circumstances.

On Friday, Jay Z released a statement on lifeandtimes.com, saying:

I have agreed to move forward with the launch of BNY SCC collection under the condition that I have a leadership role and seat on a council specifically convened to deal with the issue of racial profiling. I am in a unique position to use my voice to affect change to this disturbing issue. The easy position would have been to walk away and leave policy making to others hoping that someone addresses the problem. I will not leave the outcome to others. I will take this into my own hands with full power to recommend, review and revise policies and guidelines moving forward. I am choosing to take this head on.

The original plan for the collaboration was that 25 percent of profits would go toward Jay Z's Shawn Carter Foundation, but Jay Z and Barneys have upped that figure — a lot. The Shawn Carter Foundation, which exists to "help individuals facing socio-economic hardships further their education at institutions of higher learning," will now be receiving 100 percent of the profits from this collab. In addition, when the collection launches on November 20, the Foundation will receive 10 percent of all Barneys New York retail sales both nationwide and on Barneys.com.

Classy move, Hova.

But wait! In a mysterious twist, WWD reported, a mere hour ago, that Wednesday's launch party has been cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances." The article has since been deleted, but you can still spot it in Google's cache, for now. Fashionista also reported on the party's cancellation.

Stay tuned — maybe the ending isn't as fairytale as Barneys and Jay Z had hoped.