As one of the leading figures in popular music, Kanye West is a cultured man. Rubbing shoulders with Marc Jacobs, rapping about Pheobe Philo, sitting front and centre at Givenchy and having night out's with Carine Roitfeld, it was more than inevitable that he would fully immerse himself in the world of fashion. No, he hasn't retired as a rapper, but he now adds the title of "designer" to his name.
Shrouded in mystery, West debuted his very first collection during Paris fashion week, and if the crowd there was anything to go by, (Azzedine Alaïa, Joseph Altuzarra, Alexander Wang, Dean and Dan Caten and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Anna Wintour...) this was a major show. So let's get to the clothes- were they any good? My answer is yes.
Naturally, I could sense more than a few inspirations- Gareth Pugh, (in the draping and layering) Céline, (in angular crispness) Alexander Wang, (in the sportiness) BCBG Max Azria, (in the slashed body-con) Balmain (in the rocker chic)- but that's kind of what you would expect from someone who's as much of a follower of fashion as West. I did have an issue with some of the fabric choices, (fur especially) but I highly doubt this was a collection intended for non-celebs. Critics have noted that the collection suffered from ill-fitting, and one hopes this will be cleared up before it hits retail, but even with mixed reviews from (snooty) fashion critics, I admit this was a promising collection.
