Recovering from memory loss, Debbie Harry crowned Style Icon at Elle awards West focuses on fashion
NEW YORK: Two months after being hospitalised for exhaustion and still recovering from memory loss, Kanye West is expected to make his fi rst major public appearance at New York Fashion Week, his producer revealed.
West, who was hospitalised after abruptly cancelling the remainder of his “Pablo” tour following a week of curtailed concerts and rants about politics, is expected to be at Wednesday’s New York presentation of his latest Yeezy collection of highend athleisure wear for sports brand Adidas.
Music producer Malik Yusef said he has visited with the rapper recently and that West was focused on his recovery and spending time with his two young children with wife, reality star Kim Kardashian.
“His memory’s coming back,” said Yusef, who worked with West on “The Life of Pablo” album that was nominated for eight Grammy awards.
Yusef’s remarks to celebrity news outlet PopSugar at Sunday’s Grammy awards were the fi rst details of West’s recovery after his sudden hospitalisation in November for what was fi rst said to be exhaustion.
Representatives for the 39year- old rapper did not offer any explanation for West’s 10- day hospitalisation last year and did not return requests for comment on Tuesday on the remarks about memory loss.
The fashion event is likely to be a family affair for West. Kim Kardashian posted on social media on Tuesday that she was on her way to New York.
Both Kim and Kanye were a no- show at the Grammy Awards. Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, told celebrity outlet E! that West did not attend the Grammys because he was working on his fashion presentation.
“He’s got a lot of work to do,” Jenner said.
People Magazine, citing unnamed sources, said Kardashian was worried that the fashion show would cause West undue stress.
West’s previous collections have often been a spectacle and are a popular stop during the New York Fashion Week celebrations. Yeezy collections have regularly sold out.
A year ago, more than 20 million viewers watched online as the rapper debuted his “Pablo” album at Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden alongside the presentation of his Yeezy season 4 collection, which featured a diverse group of models dressed in leotards, tops, leggings and parkas in neutral tones.
West has kept a low public profi le in recent months, although he did meet with then President- elect Donald Trump in New York in January and posed for photos afterward. — Reuters DEBBIE Harry, frontwoman of rock band Blondie, was crowned a fashion icon at London’s Elle Style Awards, and she thanked her punk influences for defining her style.
“Coming from the punk point of view, which was very de constructionist, destructive, and disrespectful, you have to find something in yourself that makes you feel a lot of different ways,” she told Reuters at the red carpet event late Monday.
“So you have to feel beautiful, you have to feel comfortable. I have to feel sexy.”
Harry, who attended the event with Blondie cofounder Chris Stein, playfully wore a crown designed by Vivienne Westwood, while posing for photographers. Harry also wore a Westwood red suit with a black-and-white shirt and shoes. Blondie, an American punk band famous for hits like “Heart of Glass” and “Call Me” in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is expected to release their 11th studio album, “Pollinator”, in May. “It’s about the ongoing circle of culture and how we all feed off of each other and I think at this particular time...it’s very important to remember that. That we’re all so deeply connected,” Harry said about the new album. British actress and United Nations Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson was given the Woman of the Year award in recognition of her acting career and work for gender equality. Other winners included French singer- songwriter Christine and the Queens, who won Album of the Year, and Christopher Bailey took home British Brand of the Year for Bur berry. Erdem Moral iog lu won British Designer of the Year. — Reuters