It was a ground-breaking idea that only a man with an ego as enormous as Kanye West could pull off.
The rapper turned fashion designer unveiled his third Yeezy collection with a theatrical 18,000 strong listening party for his new album, The Life of Pablo, at Madison Square Gardens on Thursday.
Streamed live on Tidal, viewers watched as Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian made a grand entrance, a spotlight trained on her and her sisters as they took their seats alongside Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Balmain's Olivier Rousteing.
In between playing tracks from his new album to the audience of 18,000, Kanye thanked Kim for putting up with him.
'I wanna appreciate my wife and her family for supporting me when I go crazy on the fashion world and do all that shit, you know,' he said, to cheers from the crowd. 'I wanna appreciate you all.'
The entire Kardashian clan was on hand to support Kim's husband - all wearing outfits designed by the man himself.
Even Lamar Odom was there, wearing a beanie hat as he took his place - his first appearance since his near-fatal collapse last October.
Kim's hair was dyed blonde for the outing - one of her first since she gave birth to son Saint in December.
The baby sensibly stayed at home, while two-year-old North sucked on a lollipop as she arrived wearing a Yeezy sweatshirt, carried in the arms of her auntie Kendall.
Kylie Jenner wasn’t among the models this year, instead she joined her family in the audience.
Taking to the microphone during the show, Kanye thanked the Kardashians for attending, revealing he had flown to Paris three weeks ago to design their outfits with the help of Balmain's Olivier Rousteing.
'Make some noise for Olivier,' he told the crowd.
'It feels good to see all of my brothers, all of my music family, my wife, her sisters, and all of New York city standing behind the crazy n**** from the interviews,' he said.
Kendall was seated next to Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor-in-chief giving the show her stamp of approval with her presence.
Earlier Kim was feeling understandably nervous as she arrived for what is perhaps the biggest gamble of Kanye's career.
'About to pull up with the fam!!!! I have butterflies,' wrote reality star Kim.
Hundreds of models crowded the stage, standing still and posing as the camera slowly panned past them.
Most were unknowns, although veteran British model Naomi Campbell, 45, joined the faces.
Other stars in attendance were Melanie Griffith - a friend of Kris Jenners - Karlie Kloss, L'il Kim, 50 Cent, Asap Rocky and Jonathan Cheban.
Continuing in his mission to bring high fashion to the masses, Kanye booked out the famous arena for his third New York Fashion Week show.
The boundary-pushing rapper, who has in the past compared himself to Michelangelo and floated an apparent bid for US president in 2020,
The 18,000 seats were for paying spectators only, with tickets originally ranging from $50 to $135 and the general public, which does not normally have access to Fashion Week, more than welcome.
Live-streamed on the web by Tidal, the show is also being broadcast in 700 cinemas across 23 countries, busting out of the more traditional confines of a fashion audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment