Long queue at Kanye West three-day-only pop-up store

More than 300 fans turned up for Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo merchandise pop-up store when it opened at Suntec City at noon yesterday.

The 39-year-old US rapper and fashion designer suddenly tweeted on Thursday at noon (Singapore time) that he would be opening 21 of these three-day-only stores around the world, with Singapore being the only location in Asia.

Information about the store location was announced on West's website at 9pm on the same day.

West's merchandise, which comprise caps, T-shirts, crew necks, hoodies and jackets, are priced from $50 to $400. Each customer is allowed to buy a maximum of only five items.

The products are so sought after that some fans waited near the mall the night before the store opening.

The first in line was a 19-year-old Republic Polytechnic student who wanted to be known only as Mr Ian P. He and his four friends had been wandering around the mall since 9.30pm on Thursday.

He told The New Paper: "We spent two hours trying to find the exact (location) because there were no signs. We peeked into one of the empty shops and saw clothing hangers and figured that was the (location)."

They had to leave the premises at midnight and spent the night at the Fountain of Wealth.

They returned to the mall at 6am when it was open to the public.

"The crowd started coming in at around 7am onwards. We started a queue system so that people would not lose their spot or cut the queue," said Mr Ian.

By noon, he had a queue list of more than 145 names.

Mr Ian's budget for the shopping spree was $1,000, but he ended up spending only $370 on four T-shirts and a hoodie.

RED HOT: Poly student Ian P and a T-shirt he bought for $60.

He said: "Seeing the pieces in real life is different as compared with the pictures.

"I think the items are very exclusive and special. Red and white - those were literally the only two colours they have in there."

'UNDERWHELMED'

Another West fan, Roy Milstein, 15, a Polish student at GEMS World Academy, who turned up at 6am, said his parents did not allow him to queue overnight at the mall.

His budget was $1,500, but his eventual haul was $410. He bought two caps, two T-shirts and a hoodie.

He plans to visit the store again today to buy two crew necks and two jackets.

He said: "Compared to other Pablo pop-ups (I've seen online), I'm underwhelmed by the items they have here."

When contacted, the manager for the Singapore pop-up store, who declined to be named, said: "The public response has been overwhelming... It has been crazy everywhere else in the world."

As of 5pm yesterday, none of the items had been sold out. The store is open today and tomorrow from noon to 8pm.