With Yeezy Season 2 firmly in the rear view mirror, creative genius™ Kanye West sat down with Vanity Fair to discuss the new collection, his struggles in juggling music and fashion, and how we're just seeing the beginning of a much bigger picture.
Perhaps it's the influence of his daughter, North, that has Kanye comparing design to children's toys. For colors, West compares his vision not just to the garden of famous Belgian designer Dries Van Noten, but to the way North "takes the four Play-Dohs and starts to blend them all up together." When discussing the influence and process of working with stylist Joe McKenna, West compares building his collection with the same simplicity that comes with building with to Legos:
"We talked about Legos before, the Lego story when they figured out how to make however many combinations out of six pieces. They’re the kind of things we narrowed down to show. What are pieces that you have to have in your wardrobe?"
These insights trickle down into West's vision for his very own store, which West says is a personal dream. Oh, and he's not talking just one location—he wants "multiples of it."
On why this collection's apparel didn't involve adidas (the footwear still incorporated shoes from the German sportswear brand), West says that it all was about negotiations. As West and his team are currently in the middle of "in the middle of negotiations [with backers]," he determined that the best thing to do was show a spring collection without adidas, instead of waiting until those issues were sorted out—aka waiting until fall to show a new collection. As West says, he had the momentum and support of both the industry and the fans, so he needed to keep his "foot on the gas"
"I felt the responsibility to come back for spring and deliver that next collection because, at this stage, as early as I am into expressing myself and making clothes, it’s just way too privileged to take a season off. Are you fucking kidding me? My toe is barely in the door, my foot is barely on the gas, I’ve got to press down harder. The most successful thing about the second season was just doing the second season."
West also points out that, compared to his poorly-received DW by Kanye West collections showcased in Paris a few years ago, the reception by the fashion community has been a fairly positive one.
"I think the entire fashion world at a certain point sort of looks at me and looks at my family as a child of theirs...like an adopted child that came in, like a 17-year-old adoptee you know?"
While Ye notoriously pissed off a few members of the fashion community by abruptly announcing his show in the middle of NYFW...well, West has a response to that (and it involves Will Ferrell and the movie Elf)
"A lot of times I feel like Will Ferrell in the movie Elf. You know this big guy that wants to [join in] and his hands are a little bit too big. . . . I could just say please forgive me if I ever step on any toes, because there’s nothing that I would ever want to do or say that would take away from any designer, that would take away from anyone’s work or what they’re working so hard on."
The interview is packed with new insights, including his love of vintage Gap, the power of "invisible" design, and even his presidential aspirations.
Read the full interview over at Vanity Fair.
