Kanye West Givenchy show in Paris - H 2014
AP Photo/Zacharie ScheurerWhen it comes to matters of style, few fashion icons of our time are as prolific and profound in their spoken words as creative mastermind Kanye West (after all, this is the man who wants to “stop using the term ‘fashion’ because Eve made Adam bite an apple, and since then, it’s been illegal to be naked.”). While each of his many fashion-related rants tends to come with varying degrees of lucidity, his latest — an introduction to his first collaborative A.P.C. collection at the French brand’s Paris store on Monday — is actually kind of angsty, tortured and vulnerable in a normal-ish kind of way.
“I just want everyone to be patient with me,” the Chicago-bred rapper told an intimate crowd of press and fashion industry players, each on hand to catch a glimpse of the six-piece offering of men’s sweatshirts, parachute pants and modern military coats that constitute West’s first go-round with the 27-year-old label. “Everyone that, you know, came tonight knows that I’ve had a passion for a long time.”
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With the exception of one analogy to that of a housekeeper being stifled by her desire to pursue the floral arts, West’s speech actually made some sense. And, dare we say, left us feeling a tinge of sympathy for the creative frustration the performer has apparently faced while working his way up the fashion ladder.
“What people don’t realize is actually my music is better when I’m allowed to eat my food and drink at the same time. I can walk places quicker when I’m allowed to use my right leg and my left leg.” We totally get it — Yeezy has more to offer the world and feels like a toddler who can’t ask for his blocks. But perhaps the most shocking part of the rant was the admittance that the usually self-assured artist has in fact fallen victim to ugly fashion himself.
“I definitely have been a fashion victim.”
We agree with that statement, too.
Read the full transcript of Kanye’s A.P.C. opus at Forbes.
