web_021315-fashion-and-beauty-kanye-west-adidas-17
Iconic rapper, rule breaker, fashion trailblazer, infuriator. The only, the one…Kanye

by Sarah de Brun

There’s no denying the resilience of Kanye West, not that any of us would dare stop him anyway, now that he has embarked on yet another quest, this time to take command of our closet. In February 2015, West showcased his debut collection for Adidas at New York Fashion Week. Over 40 looks stood before the mass of celebrity attendees and fashion elite. Reviews of the collaboration were mixed, to say the least, as many saw the pieces as somehow both post-apocalyptic and anti-climatic, but it’s fair to say that with this 37-year-old entrepreneur, there’s usually more than meets the eye.

Born in Atlanta but raised in Chicago, West identified as an artist in many forms at an early age. After high school, he attended painting classes at Chicago’s American Academy of Art and then enrolled into Chicago State University where he studied English, but when his dreams of rapping and producing took precedence over his studies, he dropped out (hence his first album name, College Dropout) and moved to address musical ambitions which have, to date, produced seven studio albums. Along the way he pushed a few buttons (no need to mention details, we can all recall the events), lived life’s ups (Kim Kardashian, daughter North West, and another baby on the way) and downs (his mother Donda passed away in 2007).

Think of him what you will, the man has never lagged. In 2005, West planned to release a clothing line, Pastelle, but after many years of development it just never kicked off. Going an unexpected route, he then collaborated with Louis Vuitton in 2009 on an exclusive sneaker collection and later with Nike to release the Air Yeezys (a second launch followed in 2012). The outcome? Sold-out racks.

West was thus refueled, and his next fashion endeavor focused on a woman’s label, DW Kanye West, a name that paid homage to his late mother. For that rollout, models donned custom-made Giuseppe Zanotti heels, including a particular ivory-beaded pair that still has a waiting list. The debut was solid, yet incomplete in that the design had minute flaws. Silhouettes proved to be sexy, but at times an errant fit in critical places on a woman…close, yet with work still to be done. A second collection premiered the following year, but after that…silence.

Maybe the mark he meant to hit was menswear. In 2013 Kanye West x A.P.C. went live on the internet and sold out within a matter of hours. The capsule collection was denim focused with a small selection of graphic tees and short sleeved sweatshirts. No frills…simplicity at its best. In 2014, he debuted the collaborative fall/winter collection in Paris. The second go ‘round focused on military-inspired jackets, plain tees, chambray button-ups, and a fur-lined parka. Every piece connected to the other, designed to be replicas of West’s personal style, a look that his fans crave to recreate.

The key to what worked was apparent: casual designs with attention to cut and fabric, but with an extra Kanye edge, which brings us back to the Adidas collaboration. West was permitted full control in the design process, so what can we decipher from the pieces? Think of the monochromatic, utilitarian statements as blank canvases—the clothing isn’t making the statement or making you, it’s allowing you to free the mind from distractions and just be. No bold logos. No flashy prints…West is designing for the future in more ways than one. He is clothing new generations, designing for the artists who will mold the world into creative contradictions, because he seems to hope that they, like himself, have a method to their madness.

GP SPREAD

web_kanye_west_x_adidas_originals_yeezy_season_1_839711795_1200x799