One buzz chases the other… The dress made live on Bella Hadid at the Coperni fashion show was the joy of social networks and was the most commented event of this Paris fashion week. And then, Sunday, October 2, Kanye West arrived. He paraded for Balenciaga, and played surprise guests at the Givenchy show of Matthew M. Williams, with whom he collaborated in the past.
The American star was not only intended to be seen at Paris fashion week, but also to show: around half past midnight, Monday, October 3, an SMS warned a few dozen fashion professionals of a parade of his Yeezy brand on the same day, at 5:45 p.m. — with no regard for young designers Rokh and Germanier, who had officially booked the slot long ago and whom West was depriving of some of their audience. As an invitation: an image of a 3D ultrasound of a human fetus, suggesting that a project was about to see the light of day “bigger than life”as they say in Yeezy country.
Anna Wintour pretends to leave
The location was revealed a few hours before the festivities: a disused former Conforama store on Avenue de la Grande-Armée, just behind Place de l’Etoile. At the end of the afternoon, a compact crowd lined up in front of the entrance, as did the journalists from 5:30 p.m. Various rumors circulated: a breakdown of the generator would prevent the parade from starting before 8 p.m. but Anna Wintour would only be available until 6:45 p.m., after which she would leave.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle: at 6 p.m., the public takes their places in the circular aisles of the first and second floors of this ghost shop where the escalators are at a standstill. Kanye West is in the atrium on the ground floor, chatting happily with the many designers who have come to visit him: Demna from Balenciaga, Riccardo Tisci who has just left Burberry, Rick Owens, Stefano Pilati, Jean Touitou from APC and John Galliano of Maison Margiela accompanied by Anna Wintour. A rather disjointed video projected on a huge canvas seems to signal the start of the festivities, everyone returns to their seat, Kanye West disappears. But, at the end of the projection, nothing happens. Time flies, some creators disappear, Anna Wintour pretends to leave.
Kanye West then grabs his guests from the ground floor. He wears thongs with rhinestones and a T-shirt that hasn’t stopped being talked about on the networks since: in front, the face of John Paul II and the sentence “Seguiremos tu ejemplo” (“we will follow your example”); behind, the very controversial “White Lives Matter” (“white lives matter”). As a counterpoint to the Black Lives Matter movement born to protest against police brutality against African-Americans, the expression “White Lives Matter” is a slogan of circles of the American far right, in particular white supremacists close to the Ku Klux Klan.
But when Kanye West addresses his guests, it’s not about politics, only about fashion. He justifies the expectation of the public in a long monologue: “We’re late, but fashion takes time and we need that time to bring you the best ideas. What you will experience here, you will not experience on Google. We will not be intimidated, nor will we be treated any differently than any other fashion show”he says.
A classic collection, no surprises
He reflects on his career, explains that, in the past, he has been forced to start a parade or go on a concert tour when he was not ready, and that these constraints have damaged him and his work. He talks about his collaboration with Gap which ended in September 2022, claiming that the American fast fashion brand deceived him by marketing far too expensive T-shirts. After his speech, he gives way to a children’s choir – his family are present, but not their mother Kim Kardashian – who sings religious songs.
“Gloria, gloria, dominate deus agnus dei…” Finally, while the choir continues its work, around 7:30 p.m., the parade choreographed by Vanessa Beecroft begins without even noticing it. Black silhouettes pass discreetly in the dimly lit rows. The models – including designer Matthew M. Williams, Naomi Campbell and Rick Owens’ wife Michèle Lamy – often look strange, with their smooth, protruding skulls. The clothes, imagined in collaboration with designer Shayne Oliver (co-founder of Hood by Hair), seem very classic: integral suits veiling the face, somewhat short bombers, Bermuda shorts with cargo pockets, tank tops with thin straps, a down jacket unstructured and very large rubber boots. We find a little Balenciaga influence by Demna and Margiela in these stylistic experiments which are visually nothing revolutionary.
The tension rose a notch after the parade. Behind the scenes, Kanye West was seen with Candace Owens, a political columnist close to Donald Trump, anti-abortion and member of the pro-gun lobby. He evaded questions from journalists about his T-shirt (“why not?”) and attacked Bernard Arnault, owner of the LVMH group. Following the outcry that the parade, and the t-shirt in particular, caused on social networks, the American star gave a layer of it on Instagram, Tuesday October 4, denigrating the journalist of vogue Gabriella Karefa-Johnson who had criticized him and accused the LVMH group of mistreating its creators.
Alexandre Arnault, executive vice-president of Tiffany and son of Bernard Arnault, as well as Marta Ortega, president of Inditex, both attended the show, proving the interest that Kanye West still aroused in fashion despite the controversies. This will probably be one too many.