Insiders Debate

Kanye West, Hero or Villain?

Kanye West doesn’t bother me – I am rather a fan in fact. He’s just a middle-class kid who got into music at a young age, dropped out of college to pursue this dream, made a lot of money doing what he loves, and now reaps all the despotic benefits of being a successful artist. He married a girl with even more money, produced cookie-cutter offspring and will continue to secure his empire until death does his part. His eye is on the prize, like a jacked-up bull’s. What ever his ludicrous antics and megalomaniac outbursts may be, they simply come with stardom territory. He’s a musical genius – Yeezus is a masterpiece – and he’s allowed to be insane. It’s entertainment at best.

A lot of fashion people take offense to his venture into designing. They were quite appalled when his first show in Paris was more than an hour delayed – they had better things to do at 9 PM. Not surprisingly but nonetheless annoying, his presentation was less-than-exciting. He tried to woo the very audience he so badly wanted to be part of but failed miserably. No one was impressed, at all. And it set a precedent. They would never be impressed.

I didn’t like it either. But guess what: I feel the same about 75% of all the fashion people who pollute the world with bad design. Think of all the disposable brands out there, the Parsons students who think they’re ready to play with the big league, the obscure designers who keep on creating sub-par collections each season. All they do is produce irrelevant, needless clutter. They are a nuisance to the environment and our entire esthetic being. I have nothing against people trying to fulfill their dreams, but when it’s bad, it’s bad and one best throws in the towel.

Not Kanye though. He’s not a quitter. He’s biting his teeth deep into the fashion industry until he gets it right. He’s got Anna Wintour in his pocket, sits front row at all the shows he wants and why shouldn’t he? I believe he deserves it. He is obsessed with style, a high rolling customer and probably wears designer pieces to bed every night. He’s no different from any other climbing fashion maven. He just happens to have the cash to buy the entire ladder. His latest Adidas Originals collection may already be a step up. Those tore-up sweaters will sell like hot cakes. So ask yourself, does he really bother you?