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Everything That Happened at Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 4 Fashion Show

The show went down at Roosevelt Island.

Yeezy Season 4: Everything That Happened

Kanye Smiling - P 2016

 Booth Moore

Fashion insiders and the Yeezy fans alike were all eager to see how Kanye West would top last season’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion show/concert extravaganza at Madison Square Garden, and West used the public’s piqued interest to his advantage by shrouding Yeezy Season 4 details in secrecy. 

The Location/Transportation
Early Wednesday morning, showgoers and editors from The New York Times, New York mag, Vogue and more received emails directing them to buses in Midtown, which were scheduled to pick them up at 1:30 p.m. and shuttle them to Roosevelt Island for the 3 p.m. show. (Fans who didn’t snag a ticket could livestream the show with a Tidal subscription.)

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Roosevelt Island, located in New York City’s East River, is a narrow, 2-mile long strip of land which is made up of mostly residential buildings, boasting a population of about 14,000. Though it was once the home of insane asylums and prisons in the 19th century, the island has become gentrified over the years. Earlier this year, Hillary Clinton picked the locale — named for Franklin D. Roosevelt — as the destination for a campaign rally, and it also played host to the Fall for Arts festival in 2015; however, relative to the bustle of Manhattan, the island is generally regarded as quiet.

The buses that arrived were luxury buses, but they were certainly not of the party variety. There were no snacks, water or music (not even Life of Pablo tunes) on board. 

The show itself was held at the ruins of a former smallpox hospital. The building was designed in the Gothic revival style in the early 19th century, and housed infected patients at a safe distance from the rest of the city from 1856 to 1875. The hospital was abandoned in the 1950s.

The Guests
In addition to editors from fashion’s most respected glossies, Yeezy’s famous pals including Desiigner, Pusha T, Vic Mensa, Spike Jonze, Joe Zee as well as the Kardashian/Jenner bunch were also en route. 

The Delays
Though the show was originally scheduled for 3 p.m., guests live on the ground began reporting around 3:15 p.m. that the show had been pushed back to 4 p.m. Hair and makeup teams began working around 3:20 p.m. The delays raised concern among showgoers about making it back to Manhattan for Tom Ford’s presentation at 7 p.m., as the trip to Roosevelt Island took one hour.

The Collection
Kendall, Kylie and Kim all gave a special sneak preview of the collection on Snapchat. Kendall sported a beige ensemble including track pants and a sports bra, while Kylie rocked a nude suede crop top. Kim has been spotted out and about in clear mules and clear thigh-high boots that she made known are from the Yeezy Season 4 collection.  

 

A photo posted by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

A little after 4 p.m., models began lining up on the lawn dressed in various shades of Spanx-like shapewear. 

The Merch
Just because you can’t walk away with any of the Yeezy Season 4 pieces straight off the models’ backs, doesn’t mean you have to leave the show empty handed. West was selling long-sleeve tees with the show’s invite printed on them for $75 a pop. Available in both white and highlighter yellow, the tees will no doubt sell out — and probably be hot resale items, too.

The Show
Nearly two hours after the expected 3 p.m. start time, the show began. The Yeezy spectacular kicked off with models rocking Kim’s thigh-high transparent boots and oversize outerwear. 

A model wearing sky-high stilettos took a spill on the runway, but luckily received a hand from Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, who escorted the black-clad model back down the runway.

Other showgoers reported that a couple models had fainted in the heat. 

Model Amina Blue made a splash for removing her shoes on the runway, and then completing the final walk in white slides. 

The Models
West incited backlash earlier this week after he put out a casting call for “multiracial women only.” However, from the looks of the show, it appears that Yeezy cast women of all races. Music video star Teyana Taylor, who made her debut in West’s “Fade” video at the VMAs, and supermodel Chanel Iman closed out the show.

The Collaborators
Like his previous Yeezy shows, West enlisted the help of performance artist Vanessa Beecroft for season 4. 

The Verdict
Early reactions seem to indicate a warmer reception to this collection than past seasons. THR’s Booth Moore writes, “More work in these clothes than his past collections.” 

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