Kanye West on his fashion inspiration, critics, styling his wife and becoming the Creative Director of Gap
Following the debut of his Adidas collaboration the rapper has spoken out about his inspirations and aspirations in a revealing interview.
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Your support makes all the difference.Kanye West showed his debut collection for Adidas Originals at New York Fashion week, in a candid interview with Style.com the rapper has spoken out about his inspirations, his critics and wife Kim.
West's full collection for the sportswear brand was revealed last week in a live show during New York Fashion Week which was simultaneously streamed across the world.
Whilst the full collection is not yet on sale, the Yeezy Boost trainers which hit the market at the weekend have been a resounding success with all 9,000 pairs sold out in just 10 minutes.
Speaking at length in an exclusive interview with Style.com about creating the collection, West is honest about his practical skills as a fashion designer:
"I wouldn’t consider myself to be a designer in that way, I just want to propose a solution to problems that me and my wife and my friends face. I sit with a group of problem solvers and say, “In this situation, I would like to have this.”
He also has no qualms about naming his designer peers that he has taken inspiration from:
"You guys know my f*cking influences. I've got four influences and it’s written all over the face, you know the combination."
"You see Raf Simons right there, you see Helmut, you see Margiela, you see Vanessa [Beecroft], you see Katharine Hamnett. It’s blatantly right there. I’m not going to try and act like I was influenced by a f*cking dog walking down the street that broke its ankle that I had a heartfelt discussion with."
On the subject of his wife, Kim Kardashian, West has made no secret about the role he has as husband and chief stylist, and though the couple have now been fully embraced by the fashion world now- with a US Vogue cover, a Balmain campaign and countless appearances at fashion shows, that wasn't always the case:
"But soon as we started dating, fashion people were really opposed to the idea of reality stars. And all the relationships, the somewhat friends that I had somewhat built up, completely turned their backs on her and me. They already had their back to her, and now they turned it to me."
It's not surprising given West's outspoken personality and the reputation of celebrity fashion designers, that his new collection would attract its critics, to them West has this to say:
"Anyone that has a negative comment just needs to have the clothing in their life. I don’t need to read that because it’s not going to inspire me in any way. I don’t need any more negativity in my life [laughs] to make me work harder. I can’t possibly physically work harder. I have to tell myself to go to sleep."
As for the future West reveals rather surprising aspirations:
"One of my dreams was to be the head creative director of the Gap. I’d like to be the Steve Jobs of the Gap."
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