Uh Huh, Honey.
Let me start this off by saying I do not hate Kanye’s existence within the fashion world. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. I recognize that Kanye has shaped how I and others choose to dress. It was Yeezy who made me feel Polo shirts were cool and no longer seen as preppy to wear in middle school. (“Ralph Lauren was boring before I wore him.”) He also helped shape the opinion of most young men and how they felt about their denim choices. In a world that was once dominated by large, baggy clothing, Kanye was one of the first adopters of the skinny jean. A silhouette that now makes Jay Z’s Brooklyn Nets snap-back look outdated. Also, for fuck sake’s, how many people actually bought shutter shades and wore them for at least two months when the “Stronger” video came out?
Needless to say, I am aware of Kanye’s strong influence. When it was announced that he would be partnering with Adidas for a collaboration, I had some mixed feelings. The first thought was, “What was wrong with his current Nike deal?” To state that Kanye’s sneaker career with Nike was successful is only scraping the surface. I mean, a man was literally killed trying to purchase a pair of Yeezys. Prior to this, we only saw violent behavior over Jordans and the infamous pair of “Pigeon” sneakers from the Staple collaboration.
However, I also knew Adidas had a track record of successful collaborations with other brands. It helped open the gate for other designers like Stella McCartney and Jeremy Scott to bridge the gap between the high-end and the street wear sides of the industry. Therefore, I expected Ye would take this collaboration to a new level.
When I saw the new collection, there were a lot of beautiful elements to the presentation. If you were to watch the video, which was impressively released only hours after the show, the production was actually breathtaking. Like, if I was there, I may have wept legitimate fashion tears or fainted like Grace Coddington during the final Yves Saint Laurent show. This was expected from the man who’s been known for canceling show dates if he couldn’t give the right theatrical performance. It was clear that Kanye was trying to give the audience a glimpse into his concept and creative ideas for Adidas — not to mention the use of realistic models. They didn’t look like inferior mannequins on the runway, but actual humans like you and me. The show even featured Kylie Jenner, the non-model Jenner, who looked as legitimate as Kendall in a Chanel couture show.
Things changed when I saw Look 7. It was a black sweater with holes in it. The kind of sweater your friends think is really cool and very rare but your mother tries to throw out behind your back. When I looked at the sweater, all I thought about was Rei Kawakubo. She has been putting holes in sweaters since she started Comme Des Garçons. Kawakubo’s contribution to innovation within the fashion community is evidenced by the fact that she was allowed to put actual holes in an iconic Louis Vuitton monogram bag. Oh, and yes, people still bought it.
When I got to Look 32 in the video, it became apparent to me that they had used tights over heels. All I could think about was how huge this was for Margiela’s Fall 2009 collection. I have felt those tights in my own hands. I remembered being on set, and being reminded of why I joined this fucked part of the industry. The 12-hour days I would spend returning samples, shoving archival clothing in luggage and running on only four hours of sleep because I was working 9 a.m. to 12 .a.m. the night before. I remembered that I was doing this because I got to work with clothing that had so much history behind them. This only made Kanye’s copy feel a little too close to home.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. “Let the man live, Jeanette. People obviously still care about the shit this guy makes!” And that’s a fair claim to make. But I think there is a bigger dialogue that isn’t being had here. I often have to remind people that women’s fashion is still a male-dominated field.
When I saw the positive reception of the Adidas show, I thought about designers like Rei Kawakubo and Phoebe Philo. In this industry, where major fashion houses still mostly have male creative directors, these are the women who are changing the way we’re thinking about the clothes we wear. Even if you’re not conscious that they are.
Listen, I’m not going to give you a word-for-word quote of the scene in “The Devil Wears Prada,” in which Meryl Streep’s character breaks down the history of a blue sweater. But I can promise that the dress you bought at Zara started somewhere way before their factories. Chances are, it came from Phoebe Philo, in the form of a previous season of a Celine collection. Or maybe it was a floral dress, from Miuccia Prada.
The problem with the Kanye pieces’ similarities is bigger than the amount of sneakers he will sell, or what Rihanna will wear from the collection, and even bigger than my internship sweat and tears. I don’t want to discredit Kanye’s prior contributions to how society dresses. However, after this collection, I still find it hard to hold him to the same pedigree as CFDA winners like Phoebe Philo and Rei Kawabuko. These are women who are respected for their contributions of distinct design and aesthetic. As a young female entering the fashion industry, I’m apprehensive about where I actually measure in this field. I can only continue to look up to women like Philo, Kawabuko and Prada as they continue to create and innovate contemporary womenswear.
