KANYE WEST GOES SOUTH
His latest attempts at fashion flopped, but ‘God’ will not be deterred. By Bibbi Sowray
KANYE West’s last foray into fashion didn’t exactly go to plan. Widely panned, the two collections he released under his KW by Kanye West label, for want of a better word, flopped. But, never one to be deterred by negative press or a worldwide panning, the rapper is soldiering on with his mission to become a credible designer.
In an interview with W Magazine, which is chock-full of guffaw-able Kanye quotes, West brushes off any criticism of his previous collections, the second of which was marginally better received than the first. “The first collection was way better than the second,” he says. “It was more artful. It was 30 collections in one. It just takes time for me to slow down and think like a normal person.” Damn us normal people.
He’s now set up an atelier in Milan and is scouting some of the industry’s best talents, but before that gets going he’s releasing a capsule menswear collection with a “hip French brand”, which will be announced next month.
Aside from comparing himself to the likes of Kate Moss, Azzedine Alaïa and, err, Tiger Woods, West also used the interview to reveal that the song I Am God from his new album Yeezy , was inspired by an invitation to a fashion show that specified he must attend only that show and forgo showing up at any rival label’s shows.
“Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go. Man, I’m the number one living and breathing rock star,” he says. A little oversensitive we feel.
The final nugget of Kanye gold comes from the revelation that he no longer believes in dropping brand names, except for his own. Which is a shame. “What’s that jacket, Kanye?” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. — ©