After much discussion, hype, and mystery, Kanye West's second New York Fashion Week Show under brand Yeezy just debuted. The collection was once again a series of drapey, dusty, military-inspired pieces that are unlike anything in the market today. And with that comes polarizing opinions. More than a few people have turned Kanye's first collection into a meme, using the tattered clothes of Walking Dead zombies as the punch line. Kanye would likely welcome these critiques, or at least spin them. After all, like his fashion career, zombies are beings that have come back from the dead. (In his case, his womenswear shows back in 2011 and 2012 seemed signal end of his dreams of being a designer.)
But let's dive in to the clothes themselves. As was the case with the first season, the highlight was the outerwear. This time around we saw Kanye opt for more lightweight materials, appropriate for the spring season. Whether pieces were hooded or not, drop-shoulders were in heavy use. Think of them like oversized, softer versions of America's favorite Carhartt jacket.
The models used for the presentation were, well, not really models. There was a military drill-inspired aspect to the presentation, and the people in the show looked like recruits—which is to say they looked like regular people off the street, all joined together in the Army of Yeezus. Though, it should be noted that one recruit in the form Internet sensation "King of the Youth" Ian Connor went rogue mid show and lit up a cigarette.
Then, of course, there are the shoes. Whenever Kanye makes a new sneaker people go nuts, but unfortunately there were no new kicks to speak of. The below shows the only new silhouette to be introduced during the show, a hi-top military boot that perhaps isn't part of the collection at all. (Kanye himself is known to wear standard issue boots from time to time.) This could be for a number of reasons, but most likely it has to do with Adidas only sponsoring the show this season, whereas season 1 was billed as a full collaboration between Kanye and Adidas Originals.
Why should you care about any of this? It's easy to write this off as just a celebrity with money putting into their narcissistic passion project, but to Kanye West, this is his new passion. He's said in interviews that he cares more about this right now than music. And if Adidas only sponsoring the show marks a potential end of their relationship, then where does he go from here? With the first collection just set to hit stores next month, the biggest question of all remains—will people actually buy these clothes? Talk is cheap, even music is cheap (we all heard his new song for free today), but buying clothes? That can be pricey. It seems the real test for Mr. West has yet to begin.
