What did Gosha Rubchinskiy do? Allegations involving 16-year old explored as Kanye's new head of design at Yeezy comes under fire

Russian fashion veteran Gosha Rubchinskiy was announced as the new head of design for Kanye West’s fashion brand Yeezy through a post on X (formerly Twitter), on December 14, 2023. The rapper who made the effusive announcement on his account called the move a "milestone in design history."

However, social media users were quick to unearth old allegations shrouding the Russian designer, who courted controversy in 2018 over accusations that he inappropriately messaged a 16-year-old boy.

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2018 allegations against Yeezy head of design Gosha Rubchinskiy explored

Social media users are coming after Russian-born designer Gosha Rubchinskiy after he was tapped as the new head of design for Kanye West’s fashion brand Yeezy. Netizens have unearthed old allegations against Rubchinskiy, who launched his self-funded eponymous fashion business in 2008.

In 2018, Gosha Rubchinskiy, known for collaborations with brands like Burberry, Dr Martens, and Levi's, designed the World Cup-influenced line for Adidas. Shortly after, he made headlines after a 16-year-old boy, Jan Silfverling, accused him of sending provocative messages.

At the time, Silfverling shared screenshots of his Instagram DMs and WhatsApp conversations with Rubchinskiy, where the designer asked him to send him images of himself.

The texts began with the designer discussing the possibility of modeling for his lookbook and interviewing him for a school project. Rubchinskiy then urged the teen to take a few snaps of himself in the bathroom so his parents wouldn't find out.

It should be noted that some of the messages in the conversation had been deleted by the teen, who alleged that he deleted explicit messages. Reacting to the texts, social media users came after the designer, slamming him as a predator.

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Gosha Rubchinskiy denied the allegations

In response to the allegations, Gosha Rubchinskiy’s team sent a statement to Hypebeast denying the claims, adding that the text messages, described as routine casting conversations, were taken out of context.

Rubchinskiy’s team alleged that the texts were not s*xual in nature, maintaining it was “street casting for a lookbook shoot":

"This was a street casting for a lookbook shoot. The person sent a direct mail to us asking to be considered for the casting. This happens all the time. Gosha did a face time with him and then he asked for a photo to have on file with all the others."

Gosha Rubchinskiy’s team claimed that Rubchinskiy, who did ask for a photo, urged the teen to take a quick snap in the bathroom after the teen informed him that he wasn’t alone.

"The person said he wasn’t alone and couldn’t take a photo so Gosha suggested he just quickly go to the bathroom and take a quick photo in the mirror, so he could show the rest of the team and have it on file."

Rubchinskiy's team went on to claim that the teen altered the text messages to willfully besmirch the designer after Rubchinskiy blocked the teen, who was becoming increasingly aggressive with his pursuit of modeling for the designer.

"The person started contacting us very often demanding an answer about the casting and it became a bit weird. So Gosha blocked him and we think this is why the person is trying to make Gosha look bad and make what was an innocent street casting look something that it was not."

At the time, Adidas said it would look into the claims made by the underage boy. In the wake of Yeezy's announcement, the old allegations against Gosha Rubchinskiy have resurfaced online.

However, Rubchinskiy, who was seemingly unconcerned about the chatter online, took to Instagram and stated that he was thrilled about working with Kanye West.