Why Kanye West's show in Paris is problematic

The Yeezy specter had been hovering over Paris Fashion Week for a few days.

Rumor has it that 45-year-old rapper Kanye West was to give a surprise fashion show, the first since 2020. On Sunday, October 2,

magazine confirmed the news.

The next day, 50 handpicked people were able to attend the presentation of Yeezy Season 9 in a secret location in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, also broadcast online.

An intimate but resounding show, bringing together all the ingredients of the controversy.

An art that the rapper with controversial statements particularly masters, clearly determined to regain control over his artistic production.

Sound intro

The day before, Kanye West decisively opened the Balenciaga fashion show designed by artistic director Demna.

Contrary to the latter, who declared that he would henceforth remain silent, the creator of Yeezy made his parade a platform.

Speaking in a long tirade before the show, he goes back to the episodes that earned him the label of madman: the Yeezy fashion show given in 2016 during which the models fainted, the Kim Kardashian robbery in Paris, his stay in a psychiatric hospital... So here it is: this Monday, October 3, Ye wants to settle his accounts by embarking on the path of rehabilitation but gets bogged down along the way.

Settlement at Fashion Week

In front of the public made up in particular of Demna, John Galliano and Antoine Arnault, he ends his speech by evoking his abortive collaboration with the American brand Gap.

Everything converges on the same subject: Kanye West claims that he knows how to translate the desires of the street, but that he unfortunately has to face the hostility of the fashion industry.

Which forces him to go to war.

He concludes: "Bernard Arnault is my new Drake", a reference to the quarrel which opposed the two singers, but also to a possible partnership with the man at the head of LVMH, canceled during a general assembly of the group of luxury.

So Ye sounds the new beginning of his brand, more provocative than ever.

As evidenced, beyond the speech, the designer's t-shirt.

White lives matter

“White lives matter”, can we read on the back of the t-shirt worn by Kanye West during his event, also flocked with the portrait of Pope John Paul II on the front.

Strangely present for the occasion, Candace Owens, an American political commentator close to Donald Trump, also wore this piece hijacking the slogan of the American anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter.

This did not fail to trigger strong reactions.

In particular from the ex-wife of Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, “disgusted” by this choice but not surprised by this desire to attract attention, reports the media Hollywood Life.

When the parade begins (finally), Yeezy season 9 unveils silhouettes with an obscure urban register, exacerbated by superimpositions of sweatshirts, jackets, oversized down jackets, worrying balaclavas and leggings.

Designed in collaboration with Shayne Oliver (founder of Hood by Air), the looks are accompanied by 3D printed boots.

A visual language that does not really change from previous collections.

Naomi and North in chorus

The day before, on Kanye West's Instagram account, appeared the snapshot of a grandiose cast, composed of Beyoncé, Gisele Bündchen, Lauryn Hill or Rihanna.

Finally, none of these famous faces apart from Naomi Campbell, joined by unexpected models like Michèle Lamy, the partner of Rick Owens, and the artistic director of Givenchy, Matthew M. Williams.

To accompany their steps, the children of the rapper's choir, Donda, sing his hits.

Armed with the remix device marketed by his father (and offered to guests), the Stem Player, North West, 9, adds to this chorus.

Neither headliners nor childish voices appease Ye's martial rhetoric.

Music does not soften all manners.