Today adidas long term partner @kanyewest presented a collection as a designer in his own right. Congrats, Mr. West! pic.twitter.com/MRPM7vMlul
— adidas (@adidas) September 16, 2015
Very few people liked Kanye West’s Adidas line, which had its second runway show at NYFW on Wednesday. As we discussed, Kanye seems to think he has a gift, and that gift involves making everyone look like a refugee clothed in old Spanx and Salvation Army coats. Cathy Horyn, the VERY influential fashion reporter for the NYT, did a rundown of her thoughts about the Yeezy Season 2 collection:
A great to-do is made over Kanye West, the Designer. Yesterday, I was embarrassed to find myself running up Tenth Avenue to his Yeezy show — but I feared panic at the door, security guards twice my size, and a path through the mob just big enough for a rat to squeeze through, all of which turned out to be the case. (Of course, Courtney Love, Riccardo Tisci, Seth Meyers, and the Kardashians, all of whom were guests, had a separate VIP entrance maybe ten feet away.)
Yeezy Season 2 was kind of amusing. Again, West worked with the performance artist Vanessa Beecroft, and again, he showed hoodies, baggy pants, and beige under-things, as if time these past six months had stood still. The presentation was in a white-walled basement in Chelsea, with the audience sitting on either side of a wide floor. As a drill sergeant barked out commands — “First row!” — a line of models appeared, followed by a second and a third, all of them in tights or leggings or stretch shorts and tops that looked a lot like Spanx.
“Left, right! Left, right!” Those models exited and another batch came out, now dressed in woebegone fatigue jackets and pants, and, I might add, looking rather downcast. They made me think of POWs. The military conceit was apt, given the mind-lock that Kanye has managed to put on the fashion world. This second round of drab, broken-down basics proved he can’t be taken seriously as a designer, but nevertheless many people in fashion do seem to take West seriously — they keep showing up expectantly for his performances — and that makes them fools. Because they wouldn’t bother with this stuff if it were offered by an unknown, and if it’s the spectacle they seek, it changes as little as the clothes.
So, that happened. That’s a fashion critic’s way of saying the Yeezington has no clothes (of substance), although to be fair, it really doesn’t sound like Horyn was a fan of much during this year’s NYFW. Still, Kanye was butthurt. So butthurt that “sources” tell Us Weekly that Kanye the Fashion Martyr is used to being misunderstood, and he can take it:
“People hate on Kanye all the time,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively of West’s reaction to those who have dismissed his Sept. 16 show. “He doesn’t care in the least. He ignores the haters. He doesn’t pay attention to all the bitter critics.”
Cathy Horyn’s blunt assessment of West’s line is missing the point, the source tells Us.
“The show was beautiful and cool,” the insider says. “And Kanye has never failed in this space. His Adidas shoes sell online for so much money. From a success standpoint, he is only reinforced by the fact that all he ever touches, all his collections and collaborations, sell out so quickly.”
If Kanye is saying he’s a successful designer because his stuff sells, I’m sorry, that’s not a good enough argument. Crappy clothes sell all the time. People believe Stella McCartney is a world-class designer (and she’s not). People buy Ed Hardy’s clothes. And you know what? Kanye knows that too. He knows that saying “but my stuff sells” isn’t good enough, especially in the elite fashion circles he wants to be a part of. Which is why he dismisses his critics as “bitter.” Sigh… poor Yeezy.
Something nice: he’s really cute in this interview with ALT.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet and PCN.
I can hear him now: “My clothes are the greatest designs OF ALL TIME!!!! You hear me, world? Forget YSL, Dior, Chanel, Hermes, LV!!!!! I am the greatest designer! I rule the world with my clothing. Y’all are hazers ‘cus you can’t be a great as me! All the other designers should just step down cuz I have taken oh va! PERIOD!!!!
This man’s greatest fear is the realization that he may be mediocre at something. He refuses to accept it, and refuses to let people say it. He would collapse and self destruct is he every realized he wasn’t the absolute best of all the things.
THIS ^
I’d bet the US source is Kris Jenner.
I think she dictates and US prints whatever she says, no editing.
Pretry much. US weekly is a Kardashian mouthpiece so LOL all day at their try.
It sounds like Khloe wrote it, to me. But Kris probably told her to, so she could earn her weekly allowance of “butt plumping cream.”
Look fashion week isn’t my thing but I can see snipets of designer’s stuff and kind of see where they are coming from, even if it isn’t my thing. This show was not good, first it was way to similar to his last showing and I just thought it was plain bad. From the colours, to the designs, it was shite. I’ve seen sooooo much better stuff on project run way, I think we all have. I’m not sure he really gave thought and time to his collection, with it been a last min thing ( I could be wrong) . And I really think that he needs to out his sketches away and focus on just music. I’m mean he supposedly dresse’s his wife and well we all know how that looks.
Just because Kanye designed it, doesn’t mean it’s good. People in the industry (major side eye to Anna Wintour) need to stop kissing this man’s ass. His line sucked, it was a recycled different colored version of his first. I’m pretty sure the thousands of fashion students in the world can do much better.
I feel really bad for the designers who were pushed to the side because Sir Yeezus wanted to do a surprise show.
Did the clothes in his first line even sell well? I don’t remember seeing anyone wearing it, except the K’s.
For a second, I thought, they had used pictures of last years show by mistake! It’s almost the same, exact, ugly, zombies in their underwear, style! HORRIBLE!
THIS.
I thought it was an old photo too.
It looks exactly like his last show. I will bet anything he got a “feeling” he wanted to do a show. He did and used last show’s cr@p. IT IS CR@P AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT!
Adidas still hasn’t released his last line to stores, so the “fashion” show is just for publicity. I don’t believe they will ever be sold in stores, just those ugly shoes.
Why bother? You can get ugly pantyhose and shapewear anywhere and the rest of it at the army surplus store.
Oh, yes, Wren, that’s exactly what I came to say! I remember 15-20 years ago trawling through the army disposal/surplus stores in Sydney for original camo pants and tee shirts for my rough-and-trouble kids. Most of this stuff looks exactly like that, so…nothing new. I was in a big chain store yesterday and went past their shape wear, which, although of similar hue, looked remarkably more tasteful.
I also want to know who buys his stuff. I’ve seen photos of people waiting around holding shoes for him to sign, but are his clothes sold in shops, online? From what the article says I’m assuming the items are very expensive. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t he ranting at one time about the high cost of certain things in the fashion world? I think anyone who criticises anything he does is immediately branded as being “bitter” – such is his delusion. It’s likely just a self-protection thing, which we all do sometimes, but those photos the day after his show, with his hoodie covering his face, petulantly curled up on the floor and refusing to have photos taken, tell a different story.
I’m starting to think he’s never fully recovered from his head injury, which is sad.
I think Riccardo Tisci is why Anna W. was there. He is the tie that binds them all.
He should listen to the criticism instead of resorting to calling people “haters”(I loathe that term), he might learn something. Anna Wintour needs to step down. I’m as sick of her as I am of him.
I love that Cathy Horyn is calling out Anna Wintour as a fool. This is an excellent burn she’s thrown:
“…many people in fashion do seem to take West seriously — they keep showing up expectantly for his performances — and that makes them fools.”
That was good because while it did put blame on Kanye for being paltry at his designs it also called out the idiots who line up STRICTLY because he’s their famous name/friend.
Kanye’s designs are so bad it makes everyone pretending they’re not look bad by extension. This isn’t a difference in aesthetic taste, this is – poorly made, thought out, ugly, no variety – just the whole shebang. You basically have a crowd full of lemmings.
And how CH says, “showing up expectantly”. I love that.👏
I don’t care much about fashion, but I love to read Cathy Horyn’s articles. She is the best, for so many reasons.
You don’t get it: Kim Kardshian husband is sooooo inspired by her that his fashion line is one spanx after another.
And what’s more fun is the statement “He doesn’t care in the least. He ignores the haters. He doesn’t pay attention to all the bitter critics” because Jeezy wants to be validated by the Fashion World. I remember when he was ranting about how the fashion world is racist and that’s why it doesn’t applaud him.
@ELEONOR if’ve never thought of ot that way but by god yes , you are right!! There really is a lot if spanx inspiration in his line.
I would pay to see him walk around in that crap!
He can’t style his muse well with all the real designer clothes, how in hell would he actually design something?
Aargh… I should have read your comment before posting, Eleanor . I knew he had a KanRant, but I thought it was about the high prices of fashion. Thanks for putting me straight.
Mia v, you are spot on!
I thought he also ranted about the high cost of designer clothing too. Im too lazy to look it up and don’t care enough either. He is an insecure tool.
And then, at his own shows, he puts the black models in the back.
It looks like something characters in a post apocalyptic movie set 1,000 years from now would wear.
Did Kim put that black dress on backwards? Enough with the open toe boots!!
Haha! It may be on backwards? I’m afraid to see the back, that might be the best side!
Her boots are always silly especially for an uncomfortable pregnant woman, but his… is he wearing mukluks?
I like this zombie fashion. I could never wear that in public but still. l liked his show, I like that it pissed everyone off and I like the conversations it brought to light.
Yes, “the conversations they brought to light” have been riveting.
lol
“I don’t care what people say” and “they’re just bitter.” One or both of those statements is untrue.
Yes, elementary school come backs and ass covering statements. Riveting.
@jeanpierre What conversations?
What good is fashion that you can’t wear in public? Isn’t that the whole point?
I could see other people wearing it. Me, I’m a not really fashionable jean-t-shirt person anyway. I would not wear ANYTHING shown at a fashion show even if I appreciate the design 😉
The key to success is being so atrociously bad at something that your visual presence grates and makes mockery of those even viewing your work.
That’s how you know you’re doing well.
– Yeezy’s Rules for Success
“I like that it pissed off everyone and I like the conversations that it brought to light”
You mean the conversations about how he has no design talent and is trying to pass his ugly designs off as “avant garde”? Or how he gets to show at Fashion Week with no talent at all?
Alexander freaking McQueen, one of the masters of this age of fashion, had to wait SEVEN YEARS before he was invited to show in Paris, but ‘Yeezy’ decides he wants to play fashion designer and gets a PFW slot just like that? And after that derivative, unoriginal collection was panned, he decides sportswear is easy and decides to hit up NYFW?
so yeah, if someone had a conversation about the utter ridiculousness of that, I’m game.
That collection was terrible.
Succinct and accurate, LAK!
Gosh I miss kanye, the one engaged to Alexis. The kanye that produced great music for Jay z back when he was fairly unknown. I saw a bit of that kanye with the mbdtf album. Then he vanished.
Now we have this guy, creatively blocked by all these yes men and his private life in public no thanks to the kardashian kollectives.ugh. to think he actually had style then. Style and undebatable creative talent. I miss kanye.
Yeah that Kanye is long gone and its a shame since he was so much more open-minded and willing to actually learn and be humble/honest. The current Kanye isn’t willing to live in a world where he’s not a creative genius and it shows in how stilted and dull his creations have become.
I wish someone would do a serious study of what being entirely surrounded by yes-men does to people’s brains. Because stuff like this happens over and over again, in every industry and with every type of person. I seriously think it must cause measurable changes in the brain.
Where are these clothes sold? I have never seen them.
That’s because they’re so rare and special!!
Not sure but they should be in a dime store bargain basement bin.
Do they have dime stores anymore?
Salvation Army
Kanye and those around him are delusional to think those rags equate to fashion. That crap doesn’t even rise to the stuff they sell in Rainbow.
I would have to agree. I think he could care less about what people think of him, his music, his wife, his clothing line. All he thinks about is how much money he is making and how often the press writes/photographs him and his wife. When the money stops rolling in and his name is not longer being printed in the press on a daily basis, only then will he consider what other people have to say. Right now, it seems to be working for him. People write on this blog every day about how sick they are of reading about him and Kim. But if that was true, then this site would stop posting stories about them and we (myself included) would stop responding.
You’re right, we do constantly comment about how much we dislike Kim, Kanye and the entire Kardashian family. Guilty as charged. In real life as well as in movies, books and tv shows there are those characters we love to hate for whatever reason. The insane over exposure, huge egos, unfortunate fashion choices, endless greed and trashiness of these people make them targets. They know it and don’t care because it keeps them in the public eye. Every single day. It’s what they live for obviously. So yes, as sick and tired as we are of them and as mean as this may be, it’s fun to make and read comments about them. This is after all called Celebitchy for a reason.
I used to click on all the Jon and Kate Gosselin stories just like I do w/Kardashian’s. It is fun watching the train wreck melt down! I don’t apologize.
Bitter party of one, right here. I’m bitter that I clicked this linked and was greeted by an image that appears to be a cast party for Hannibal. *trigger warning*
I used to have some of the same look back in uni – it’s the grunge look with muted colours.
I don’t understand why we never see him wearing it.
I am not into fashion week but when I saw his stuff I thought it was horrid. Your description of refugee wear is spot on.
Two thing: anyone can claim that anything is successful and “sold out” if the items are only released in limited editions. If only 500 of his creations are released, it only takes 500 fools to buys them and make it seem successful. That does not mean it’s great design and does not make one a talented designer. He’s full of it and he knows it. Anna Wintour fawning over him is simply feeding his delusions and she needs to be fired as she’s lost all integrity by backing him. American Vogue is joke. I wonder how their sales were affected by putting K & K on the cover. My friends and I haven’t bought it since in protest. I’m sure we’re not alone.
Also, is he wearing sneakers with lifts in the last photo? Hahahahah….
Chrissy, I’ve wondered the same thing about him wearing lifts for a while now. I’ve seen numerous different photos of him wearing different shoes, and most look as if they’ve got really thick soles/platforms or whatever. Compared to his wife (I’m shorter than she is!), he’s an ok height, but against tall people…yeah, some men can’t cope with that.
GO Chrissy – I have cut ALL ties with Vogue also. I no longer value their opinion as a “fashion bible” – they’ve lost all credibility!!!!!
Not all criticism comes from bitterness. Troll behavior yes, but criticism?
IMO. between his car accident and his mothers passing and the stress of being a legend in his own mind, Kanyes narcissism has blown into borderline insanity.The fact that they are no people around to say no, rein him in or even care is almost sad to me .
Its like watching someone degenerate into bizarro world almost like Michael Jackson
The fact he threw this show together kast minute, bumping other shows to other times forcing these people to scramble last minute when they had been working for months with the show times they had been given makes me lose all respect for him. The fashion world won’t take him seriously if he just flouts the rules and demands a show time and space already reserved for another fashion designer which had been alloted months in advance. That isn’t fair to the people who have been working long hours to pull this off. I work on Fashion Ave in Manhattan and the building I work in is full of fashion companies (I don’t, I work for a tech company) and I constantly see these people with samples in their arms or dragging suitcases full of clothes around or talking about their collections. Kanye has no idea what fashion grunt work is like and will never be taken seriously as a fashion designer.
On another note some of the sneakers he “designed” were included in the Brooklyn Museum’s exhibit “The rise of the sneakers.” The whole exhibit was kind of weird and seeing the ugly shoes he designed made me roll my eyes.
I like Kanye. I think his clothes look comfortable. I get tired of fashion being busy and constricting.
Hey Kanye, remember when you use to make music. You were very good at that. Juuust something to think about.
His shoes do sell. What does that have to do with the clothes? Collections sell out? I never see them sold anywhere.
Well if you limit the amount of clothes actually being made, it’s easy to say they sold out right? People need to realize that “sold out” is just a trick used by many in the industry. If you publish a book but only print 10 copes and all 10 sell…well guess what? Your book sold out.
Also, I wonder what his “message” was by having the white models n light clothes at the front, the medium toned ones with medium toned clothing in the middle, and the darker models at the back with darker clothing. Is he commenting on “race” and hierarchy?
Anyways, I don’t see anything fashion forward or genius about his designs. He is delusional. He’s a lot like Kim. “Oh you don’t like me? It’s because you’re jealous I’m so beautiful”. “Oh you don’t like my designs? It’s because you’re bitter !”. Oh f*ck off you two.
Well apparently only the public is truthful with this dude. The rest of the world including Anna Wintour just continue to suck up to him and pretend that he is simply something he is not and that is talented. I used buy Adidas but if they find copying fashions out of a 1933 Sears catalog and ripping holes in them talented…well they are not the corporation I thought they were.
Wow, kk looks like shit. All that $$$ spent on those clothes too. She looks ridiculous. He looks bad too. Money can’t buy taste
All insane people don’t care what others think. It’s part of being insane.
…are those lifts on his feet?…lol..
If I was Kanye, I wouldn’t pay attention either.
Kanye doesn’t pay attention to ANY criticism. If he did, he wouldn’t act like such a damn tool all the time.
G-d, I am SO SICK of him, and the people who kiss his ass!
sorry Kaiser, I don’t like her designs either and she is far from the greatest but Stella McCartney’s at least an actual designer. She trained in fashion design and pattern cutting unlike this buffoon (and also did a collection for Adidas which actually had cute pieces and not fugly beige-coloured blobs of nothing).
I love Cathy Horyn sometimes, but quite a few commenters on that NYMag post are reading Kanye’s defenders to FILTH, and it’s beautiful. They even took the time to hand the Yeezy fan brigade names of a few black designers who have 100x the skill Kanye would ever, and who have more impact on fashion than beige….oops, sand–coloured jersey ever will.
“People hate on Kanye all the time,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively of West’s reaction to those who have dismissed his Sept. 16 show. “He doesn’t care in the least. He ignores the haters. He doesn’t pay attention to all the bitter critics.”
This sounds like something some of the commenters on this board say all the time. Come on, fess up. Which one of you Celebitches gave that quote to US Weekly? 😉
His inspiration must’ve been a pile of his wife’s dirty Spanx, crumpled on the floor for the maid.
He must have something on Ann and others in the industry to continue to get away with this crap
bitter? he’s nasty bitter — and has yet to do one thing for a good cause to help anyone but himself.
what a joke.
Here comes the pantyhose brigade!!! What a joke this guy is – LMFAO!!!!
Ha! Of course he doesn’t pay attention to those who hate his “fashion” garbage. He’s a narcissistic child who will only get worse as he ages, as all of us with narcissistic experience can attest. Their behavior is maddening, frustrating, and emotionally draining. Best advice is to stay away and ignore them, as nothing is a worse punishment for the narcissist.
he pay attention …
It’s basically fleshy Spanx and sweats………oh YEAH he is talented. LOL!!
I mentioned on another website that did this story that a clothing line in which the clothes themselves look like week-old rancid chitlins is not considered Haute Couture. It’s called a Hot Mess.
Just because your ugly sneakers sell for more money on ebay doesn’t mean you have talent, it means your target audience is too stooped or lazy to get in line early to buy your crap. Sorry he’s a no talent along with his poorly dressed slag wife. I blame Anna Wintour for all of this mess. She’s ruined fashion.