Image: Paper
At the top of his list of innovation opportunities is the fashion world, in which Kanye says he is busy breaking down barriers. He discusses the concept of a “fashion insider,” and why such a title should be done away with, considering that fashion is something we all participate in. “I believe that everyone is a fashion insider because it’s illegal to be naked,” he said. “But in all seriousness, the fashion world can say, ‘Yo, you know what I mean: the inside insiders.’ I saw this article that asked, ‘Should Kanye leave fashion to the professionals?’ That question is really ignorant, in a way, because the second I sell my first T-shirt or my first shoe, doesn’t that make me a professional? And when you sit down with Riccardo Tisci at the Louvre and he pitches the idea of you wearing a leather kilt, which could be considered by all of your gangbanging friends as some sort of a dress or skirt, at that point you are now a part of the fashion world. You have paid your dues to be an insider. I paid my dues when I had to wear a kilt in Chicago, and friends would say, ‘What’s your boy got on?'”
Kanye assures us that the collections we’ve seen from him are nothing compared to the collections he plans on blessing us with in the future. “I haven’t even given my College Dropout of clothing yet. We’re still on mixtapes. “
But mostly, Kanye is thankful that he is finally being given the acknowledgement and praise from the fashion world he craved for so long. It seems the rapper is at a turning point in his career in fashion, and he is more hopeful about what he can accomplish now that critics aren’t skewering his work anymore. “I feel very positive about the future. People are starting to recognize and just give me a chance to be looked at, respected and a part of the conversation. I really appreciate that my collection at New York Fashion Week was accepted positively.”
That’s all he ever wanted, y’all.
[via Paper]
