The Yeezy Season 3
Collection has finally arrived... but I think TLOP stole the show.
Kanye West hosted his live instalment of his new collection at
Madison Square Garden this Thursday. 20,000 people came out to watch,
20,000,000 watched the stream online and the cinema screenings around the world
were all sold out.
The collection itself was pretty much everything I expected it to
be. Similar to Season 2 but different hues and colours. The minimalistic and
over-sized look that Kanye creates is timeless. This is the kind of clothing
that we need more of, clothing that won't necessarily go out of fashion because
it's so easy to style and adaptable. It might not be to everyone's taste but I
can definitely see true hip-hop and streetwear fans copping this collection.
Clothes aside, what stood out most to me was the curation.
Everything about how the show was produced, the casting, the timing and the
lighting was A1. I love the whole Guerrilla vibe it had. It was more of an exhibition
or a party than a fashion show and that’s what added a whole different energy
to the night.
There was so much simplicity to the whole event. It was straight
up Kanye doing his thing and the models doing theirs. There was no excessive
lights or production, it just was what it was and I think that matched the
whole essence of both the collection and Kanye himself.
The only real negative I had, from the production side, was the
actual instalment. I liked that the models who were actually wearing the
collection were on their platforms but the rest all just seemed a mess. There
were around 1200 extras, who were mostly wearing thrift store found, dyed
clothes, just standing there in a huddle. It all seemed too cluttered and a bit
of a mess.
MSG is a large venue so surely they could have done much more with
the space they were provided with. The whole vibe of the night was like a gig, the
best part of the show was at the end, when Kanye left and all the extras were
like 'fuck it' and started dancing to the music. That should've been what the
show mostly was because it had more of a real and authentic feel to it and gave
the clothes a bit more personality.
Along the lines of the extras... I adore how he casted it. The
extras were all street casted which is first of all great because it's giving
people who wouldn't usually have these kind of opportunities the chance.
Secondly, they were mostly black which is great because there is such a lack of
black/ethnic presence in the fashion world. Kanye allowed them a chance to
shine through and be noticed for once.
For the main models, he
included the best. Young Thug, Ian Connor, Lil Yachty and South London's Gaby
Sahhar all managed to make it on to the main stage. It definitely added a more
personal touch for all the fans out there to see these guys. Then supermodels
Veronica Webb, Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek and Liya Kebede all came out dressed in
black, and elevated the black model movement of the night to another level.
The looks were also
something that stood out. The fact that he decided to have hair natural or
covered and have a bare face was a good choice. It definitely accentuated the
natural black features that are so often looked down upon, for example afro
hair, which again helped the movement and possibly/hopefully made black people
feel more comfortable and not restricted anymore like white media tells them.
It also helped have the main focus be on the clothes and nothing else.
The only disappointment from
the actual show itself was the camera work. The shots and quality were visually
stunning and captured the models and their emotions well, however they didn't
really focus on the clothes as much as I would have expected. They seemed to
focus on the same few models and looks rather than how an actual runway would
show everything.
It
became a bit repetitive too. With the cameras not really showing much, maybe
the minimalist look wasn't the best. If you were at MSG I'm sure the atmosphere
was on another level but for those of us watching at home or at the cinemas,
maybe some visuals would've helped the almost 90 minute show – especially considering
most fashion shows only last around 20 minutes
With regards to The Life of
Pablo, showcasing the album this way was a brilliant idea. It gained the album
a lot more attention and it mixed the fashion and music worlds. It gave
something else to the fans and it kind of made them feel a little more
included.
The use of showcasing at the
cinema, like Season 2, is a great idea. Kirsty Jones, Marketing Manager at
Hackney Picturehouse, said: "It's encouraging to see artists using cinemas
as a platform to share their work with fans all over the world". Cinema is
such a great platform and it gives the fans a whole new experience to watching.
One of my friends said it was in the top 5 things he had ever witnessed, after
watching at Vue in Piccadilly.
The album itself is going to
be golden. Whilst the album title and the artwork is questionable, the music
sounded like his best stuff yet. It definitely had a 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted
Fantasy' earlier Kanye vibe to it so I'm very excited to hear what the final
outcome is like. I'm especially excited to hear Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi and
Frank Ocean (who is back from the dead apparently) on it properly.
The new drops from Young Thug and Vic Mensa were also premiered.
It was great that Kanye gave them a chance to preview their work as well. It
made the night not be all about him but more about music as a whole too.
Overall,
the show was amazing. It had its faults and it was 100% chaotic beauty, which
in my opinion was a perfect metaphor for Kanye's mind - but it was great. From
the production to the execution, nobody could've done it better than Kanye
