While looking into the origin of the bear mascot from Kanye's "College Dropout" album, Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive found the owner, Eric Arginsky, who worked with Kanye to develop a line of plush bears.
While the line of stuffed animals never materialized, Arginsky still owns the bear costume that was used heavily while Kanye was promoting his debut album. He also clarified that the costume isn't the same one used on the album cover, as the high school that used the mascot on the cover declined a deal for Kanye to purchase the mascot.
Arginsky explained, "I think they tried to buy or purchase that from the high school. They were turned down. … Obviously, it was going to be the basis for everything going forward [so] they went out and bought this suit which was then what they used on the DVD cover and for future promotions."
Now, Arginsky says that his mother wants the costume out of her house, where it's been stored for years, and he added that he's open to selling it. When Barber asked if he would take $1 million for it, Arginsky said that he'd be open to that being a starting point. He also stated that he'd also be open to a museum acquiring it, which you can hear more about in the above interview.
