Kanye West Turns Fashion Designer

Christina Roys
Published on October 03, 2011

First Victoria Beckham and now Kanye West, the stereotypes of celebrity designers are slowly but surely being obliterated. When you've conquered the music world, there is always fashion as Kanye West will tell you and unlike a selection of celebrities that have ventured in this direction, West bucked most of the negative expectations, wowing many of his hand picked audience of editors, stylists and journalists.

Making his fashion designing debut for Spring 2012, Kanye West surprisingly went exclusively womenswear, producing a line that is unique in its juxtaposition of chic and streetwear aesthetics.

A simple colour palette complimented rich fabrics and textures including fur, metallic and a mosaic of crocodile skins, perfectly encapsulating Kanye's love for luxury. Commendable for his highly designed shapes, cut out details and overall clean aesthetic the range did however waver on borderline ghetto-chic, attributed to the deep plunging neck lines and peek-a-boo mid drifts.

Nevertheless fashion's most famous aficionado proved the years of his front-row fixture at fashion shows served him well, sending out a luxurious hard-edged women's collection that impressed the likes of Alexander Wang, the Olsen twins and R&B singer, Ciara.

Known for his egotistical nature, West acknowledged his vulnerability speaking to reporters after the show, the seasoned performer kept repeating "I'm so scared, I'm so nervous. "The biggest conversation I hope I can end tonight is this whole 'celebrity designer' thing," he said once he'd managed to collect himself. "That's the biggest hurdle when you want to get amazing people to work for you."

Easily one of the most buzzed about shows of the week, it appears as with any fashion show, alongside the lovers there are haters, with many critics reportedly slamming Kanye's collection for ill-tailored garments. Whatever the overall perception of Kanye's show his fashion career will no doubt be one to watch, as he's made pretty clear over the years when its Kanye's project, chances are it will succeed.


Published on October 03, 2011 by Christina Roys
Tap and select Add to Home Screen to access Concrete Playground easily next time. x