ALL HAIL YEEZY: the evolution of Kanye West as a fashion designer

By Tina Makuch. April 3rd, 2020.

Kanye West, an American artist known by many around the globe, shocked the world in 2015 by taking a break from music and releasing his very own fashion line. Since that time, we have been privileged to see 8 seasons of his line Yeezy.

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia but spent most of his childhood in Chicago Illinois. After finishing high school, he famously dropped out of college, later naming his 2004 album “The College Dropout.” West did this in order to follow his dreams and focus on his music career. West’s love of music expanding into many types of art and he had also always had a love of fashion. Most people don’t know that he actually made a line called DW Kanye West in 2011. While we can see elements of the designs he creates today, such as neutral tones and athletic inspired pieces, there are some surprising pieces that many would be shocked to find out were created by him. Super strappy heels, glamourous furs, and all over beaded tops would never been seen in his Yeezy fashion line. The line did not end up doing very well, therefore making Yeezy his first truly successful and widely praised line.

West’s first season was a collaboration with Adidas Originals. The line included shoes, clothing, outerwear, and more. The pieces were a mix of military-inspired, often over-large garments and skin tight nude colored body suits making the models seem as if they were naked. The color palette was quite soft and neutral, featuring shades of tan, grey, black, olive, and light blue. The Yeezy 350s were the hit of the collection, selling out instantly as all of his shoes always seem to do.

After his first collection, West distanced himself from Adidas. While Adidas still sponsored his shows, the garments were done completely on his own. West eventually made a return to his original collaboration style with Adidas when he did season 5, but that was only for that specific collection.

Since season one, his shows are always highly anticipated, and are always talked about inside and out of the fashion industry. In West’s most recent collection for autumn/ winter 2020 we can continue to see his some of his trademark styles including tiny bra tops, oversized jackets, and a muted color palette. There’s no doubt his wife Kim Kardashion’s minimalistic style has influenced his work. Besides his wife’s influence, West seems to have a very interesting and unique inspiration for his clothing. West has said that being creative in itself is the inspiration. He wishes to push the boundaries of the industry and to do things that have never been done before. He also adds that every industry is not as advanced as it could be, due to the fact that people are afraid to be as creative as they possibly can.

The trend of athleisure is by far the most prevalent in his work. Other than that West seems to pave his own way in the fashion industry, attempting to use as much creativity as possible. As this point many feel he is an innovator, and look to his style to inspire their own daily looks. For now West seems to be having great success, with many more seasons of Yeezy to come. From completely nude monotone outfits, to garments people referred to as “homeless-looking,” we can only wonder what crazy trend he will inspire next.

References:
https://vimeo.com/120225435
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrislambert/2020/02/29/ahead-of-yeezy-season-8-a-look-back-at-seasons-1-7/#38010aed33e0
https://observer.com/2016/02/before-yeezy-kanye-west-had-this-fashion-line/