New York Fasion Week: The Kanye West effect

Katherine Santana Staff Writer

Two days into New York Fashion Week, one designer’s collection created quite the commotion: Kanye West’s apparel and footwear collection for Adidas. The presentation, though a spectacle, was anything but a conventional fashion show.

The show maintained a typical fashion show template, but with a distinct ‘Yeezy’ twist. There was a 30-minute wait to enter the venue, an industrial space that was already populated with nine rows of models, standing still in dark center of the venue in grid formation.

The show then began with a voiceover: West introduced Yeezy Season One, as the collection is called, and in his speech he explained the importance of accessible clothing and creativity. This was a quick nod to West’s self-proclamation that he is the “Robin Hood” of the fashion world.

“If someone was to say, ‘Hey, do you want to go to a high-end house now?’ I’d absolutely say no. Because I’m only concerned with making beautiful products available to as many people as possible,” West told Style.com. “The least I could do is spend my time trying to give other people a piece of the so-called good life. Everyone should have the good life.”

The presentation didn’t follow a typical runway format, but rather a slow procession, initially set to a lone trumpet and then to a brand new track from West’s upcoming album “Wolves” featuring Vic Mensa and Sia.

When the lights went up, eyes darted between the models. The casting was diverse: A combination of short and tall women, all with varying body types, and men of a variety of heights, muscle builds and skin colors. Many also wore wig caps.

Among the crowd of models was the youngest of the Kardashian clan, Kylie Jenner. Kendall Jenner, the noted model of the family, attended the show and sat front row in support of her sister and brother-in-law.

The younger Jenner modeled a sheer bodysuit, mocha shorts, chocolate over-the-knee boots and a black shearling coat; she wore a sheer cap over her head and minimal makeup.

The clothing line was similar to that worn by the attending Kardashians. The range of clothing was produced in a muted color palette of flesh tones combined with shades of blueish-grey, beige, black and muted greens, with a bit of camouflage thrown into the mix. Much of the clothing unveiled had raw or distressed seams and hems.

West received a lot of heat from the media over his line and was quick to respond to them on his social media.

“I have millions of ideas and I represent a new generation just trying to express themselves in a broken world,” West tweeted.

Womenswear included knitted bodysuits, shorts and high-waisted, skin-tight skirts. There were oversized zip-up jackets and jumpers, sports bras made out of socks, floor-length tube dresses and crop tops.

A shot of bright color was only provided by one fuchsia pink oversized t-shirt dress, worn by a model who had the sleeves of another top tied around her waist.

The menswear shared a similar silhouette, with oversized tops and fitted bottoms. Individual pieces included bomber-style and washed-cotton jackets, oversized tracksuit bottoms and “perfect T-shirts.” The men’s pieces were designed to also be worn by women.

When asked about the price of the camouflage jacket in his collection, West told Style.com, “What I will tell you is that we’ll eventually get them super-inexpensive. And it will be all about everyone having them.”

The Yeezy Season One collection included the Yeezy Boost – a limited edition trainer boot with the Adidas brand unique bouncy sole technology that was released earlier this week. It sold out online in 10 minutes.

In an interview with Style.com, West said to expect the camouflage pieces to be available within the next three months. The full collection included more footwear designs.