Qamar AbdiYou are cordially invited to, THE BIGGEST FASHION CATASTROPHE EVER!
Last month it was confirmed that rapper Kanye West would be debuting his first-ever womenswear collection during Paris Fashion Week. According to British Vogue, the Chi-Town MC tapped London-based designer Katie Eary to collaborate for his first ever catwalk presentation. Eary, an ‘08 graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, is known for her avante-garde collections with a futuristic twist, thus making her and West the perfect pair. In other words, they’re both crazy. The ballsy move comes right after the rapper-turned-designer was denied access to not one, but three separate fashion shows last March in Paris. It’s one thing to not get invited, but to pretend like you did and then embarrass yourself, why would you even put yourself in that position? On the other hand, he did sit front row at Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood and Valentino. A month later, the controversial rapper turned heads at Coachella when he donned a printed women’s knit from French fashion house, Céline. Personally, I loved the look and had complete faith Mr. West would put in as much time, passion and creativity into his designs as he does with his music. Though skeptical at first, I thought to myself, “Maybe he could pull a Victoria Beckham?” Boy, was I wrong.
The only thing the show gets an A+ in is attendance. West brought in the heavy-hitters of the fashion world and had a very impressive front row that included Anna Wintour and Azzedine Alaia - so awkward, Joseph Altuzarra, Alexander Wang, Olivier Theyskens, Dean and Dan Caten, as well as the Olsen twins. The collection was heavy in texture; everything from leather to fox fur, so much I assumed a fox genocide had recently occurred. Look after look, I thought to myself, “Why are the models swimming in fabric?” It’s one thing to channel flagrant androgyny, but it’s another to have Anja Rubik drowning in what’s supposed to be a BANDAGE dress. In typical Kanye-fashion, model Chanel Iman stated that he had called her the day before asking to walk in his show. The spring collection was met with harsh criticism, and well, read for yourself:
Lisa Armstrong (Fashion Editor for the Daily Telegraph):
“Kanye West‘s fashion debut was like being subjected to an hour-long MRI scan – but not as much fun … It was the equivalent of Karl Lagerfeld launching a hip-hop career: ie absurd.” ZING!
Carine Roitfeld (Former Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue):
Carine, more gentle, said, “I’m sure he knows what he did wrong and what he did right. He tried hard, and he wants to learn.”
Via Twitter:
Cathryn Horyn (Fashion Blogger for the New York Times)
@CathyHorynNYT: Next season Kanye should get a tailor so clothes might fit. Models swimming in some looks. Kills the hot look, no?
Jessica Michault (Online Style Editor for the International Herald Tribune)
@JessicaMichault: The Kanye West show, in my humble opinion, is proof that everyone can love fashion but not everyone can be a fashion designer.
and
Kanye West taking his bow after his debut as a “designer.”
And the best quote of all goes to none other than Anna Wintour in which she said, “Ask someone else.” Ouch!
Take a look at the absurdity Kanye calls “art” below…
