When it comes to Kanye West — and more importantly owning a piece of his Life of Pablo merchandise — you can look but you better not touch.

The rapper-fashion mogul opened 21 pop-up shops worldwide Friday, selling everything from T-shirts to baseball caps — all themed around his latest album. The caveat to shoppers? Keep your hands off the merch.

Shoppers could browse, but if they touched the clothes or hangers, yes hangers too, eagled-eyed staff at the outlet — located at Ossington Ave. and Queen St. — politely asked them to keep their hands to themselves.

Unsure about a medium or large?

You better get the large. And if you’re hoping for soft, buttery cotton, forget it. The T-shirts are a rough blend of cotton and polyester.

I should know; I bought one.

But then again, I have Yeezus on the brain and Friday was payday.

Arun Vasanthakumar, 18, and Edwin Nguyen, 19, waited 14 hours to get in, spending $980 and $740, respectively.

“Everything he does is golden,” Vasanthakumar told the Toronto Sun, as he stepped outside the nondescript storefront.

Items for sale at the Toronto location — the only one of its kind in Canada — included a $90 long-sleeved T-shirt emblazoned with the words, “I love you like Kanye loves Kanye”; a $345 black satin bomber with “Pablo” on the back; and a $125 orange sweatshirt with “Perfect” on the back.

Most of the items were labelled “Toronto”.

Unlike Drake’s OVO clothing, which sells out of his Dundas St. W. store and is made in Canada, Kanye’s Pablo items are manufactured by Gildan overseas. They’re about the same level of quality as the freebies the Raptors were giving away during the playoffs.

Keep that in mind while you’re sipping an iced latte seven blocks back.

With upwards of 1,000 people in line, many at the back were opting to buy the merchandise at a markup from people exiting the store.

“I made $300 reselling stuff to people at the back,” Vasanthakumar said.

Last in line, and hours away from getting in, Kaitlyn Chorowiec, 18, said she was planning to spend $300-400, explaining that the event was “once in a lifetime.”

When asked how long she and a friend were prepared to wait, she said until they got in.

“I’ve got nothing better to do.”

Like I said, some of us have Yeezus on the brain.

The Pablo pop-up is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. through to Sunday.

Twitter: @markhdaniell

MDaniell@postmedia.com