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The fashion show Kanye West put on to show off his collaboration with Adidas was exactly what you would expect a Kanye West fashion show to be. There was an unreal front row of A-list music celebrities (plus the Kardashian kontingent) and powerful fashion people (Anna Wintour, Alexander Wang), a voiceover addressing mean commenters, and a new Kanye song. Oh, and clothes too.
This was your typical fashion show template with a distinct Yeezy twist. Take the front entrance: It's not uncommon to wait half an hour after a show is slated to begin just to be let in, and to do that waiting while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a few hundred other people. The Kanye version: You wait, but do so next to Joe Zee and a trio of maybe-21-year-old hypebeast crashers who you hear rumblings of a new Drake mixtape from. When Style.com's Tim Blanks and W magazine EIC Stefano Tonchi push by, they're succeeded by hip-hop brother duo Rae Sremmurd. This was definitely not a no flex zone.
It resembled the sporty, sexy, freaky lovechild of T by Alexander Wang and 2007 Margiela.
Despite being an assigned-seating show, models were standing (not walking) in the collection when guests were admitted into the space some 25 minutes after the 4pm start time. That said, it was nearly pitch black in the room, which sat around 400 guests plus those in standing. But who even cares when there's the spectacle of watching major celebrities leak from backstage to their front row seats?! Basically everyone from Kim's shoebox Instagram was there: Puff Daddy (with Cassie), Jay Z (with Beyoncé), Big Sean, and Kylie (who was actually in the show—Jenner model twist!). Rihanna, Alexander Wang, Anna Wintour, and A$AP Ferg were just a few of the other notables in attendance. From the fam, Kim (holding little baby North), Khloe, and Kris were seated front and center. Justin Bieber, however had to settle for second row.
The show began with a voiceover; Kanye introduced Yeezy Season One, as the collection's called, explaining the importance of accessibility and creativity and people who say, "Why does he keep trying?" and why, exactly, he does in fact keep doing so. Lights then went up at the front, slowly illuminating the looks row by row as a single horn blew. Nori was not a fan of the noise—Kim got up to shuttle her backstage, followed by Kris, before she returned to her seat.
There is, scientifically, no way to top this show.
Oh yes, the clothes—and those sneakers. There were 50 looks, all of which are on Style.com right now. It resembled the sporty, sexy, freaky lovechild of T by Alexander Wang and 2007 Margiela. For women, that involved a lot of pantyhose material in applications far from stockings: sports bras, long-sleeve tops, even a white body suit. On the more commercial side for girls there were low-slung sweatpants, sweater dresses, some cool outerwear options, and a pink sweatshirt dress with a tie waist. Boys wore the Yeezy Boost sneakers throughout, including a newly unveiled low-top version. Sweatsuit sets for guys married tunic-length tops with slim pants that bunched from the knee down, a silhouette signature to the man himself.
To throw a Kanye-sized cherry on top of this sundae of celebrity guests, arty-weird streetwear, and a dramatic combination of intermittent light and sound, Ye released the first track from his new album, called "Wolves," before walking out for his bow. There is, scientifically, no way to top this show.
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