Kayne West has got a lot of stick for turning his hand to fashion, with some brands turning their nose up at his dreams of design.
But the notoriously persistent rapper - who insists that both Fendi and Versace offered him internships - didn't let such snobbery dampen his spirit.
Oh no, Kanye's Fall 2012 (American for autumn/winter, obvs) catwalk show in Paris was brimming with, err, spirit - from the dry ice to the leather choker roll necks.
And where exactly did Kanye's creative juices surge? In short, a hell of a lot of leathery Hell's Angels it seems.
Leather dresses, bandaged thigh highs, jackets and liquid leather leggings - Kanye's AW12 collection nodded to S&M, and then some.
But where the rapper guaranteed himself some headlines (whips, chains and dry ice anyone?) he more than mixed it up with some softer, more fashion forward pieces too.
Tobacco tan capes, roll-neck tops, acres of velvet and even some knitwear (!) ensured that the musician turned designer earned himself some mainstream fashion followers for the next season, plus one.
See other designers love tobacco browns and Monster Furs too!
Back in September 2011 (SS12 Fashion Week to fashion nerds) Kanye was criticised for ignoring the basics - think easy pleasing perennial trends such as summer stripes and whites over, well, massive fur coats.
To be fair, throwing leather and fur clad models down his spring/summer '12 catwalks wasn't his finest hour.
And it certainly didn't wash with the fash' pack either (even if he could've got away with it in Brrr-itain).
But it's good to see that Kanye's taken such criticisms onboard - either that or he's just recycled some of his old looks...
Whatever his motives, Kayne's won himself a few SUPER-FANS along the way - singer Azealia Banks tweeted: "That was the most fun I've had this year!" while Kim Kardashian shot straight over from the US this morning. Then began heavily promoting the Guiseppe Zanotti heels from his Dw SS12 line the moment she touched down. He owes her a pair of five...
Footwear fact fans may also like to know that said heels cost $5,000 and Anna Dello Russo's been hooked on hers for ages, though many more frugal fashionistas may still need some convincing…
Well-heeled or not, it's all too easy to criticise Kanye West.
His designs may be a bit rough around the edges, and WOW obvious in places.
But he's bagged himself a few key trends for Fall, and even managed to sneak in the old sheer top (read nipple flash) and all.
Whether Kanye's all whips and no trousers is yet to be seen (we'll need to wait for another spring collection to make that call) but his clothes are cool, in an obvious-but-you-really-want-him-to-succeed kind of way. And his after-show parties are even more notorious still.
Hell, if it's good enough for Kim Kardashian, P Diddy and JLo then who are we to complain, and just think where was Victoria Beckham's design career a few seasons ago…
0 comments:
Post a Comment