Can Rappers Please Sit The F*ck Down When It Comes To Fashion Design?

[interest1]

September 25, 2013

Can Rappers Please Sit The F*ck Down When It Comes To Fashion Design?

by Lil Government

I can’t believe it’s real: in July, after Kanye’s APC collaboration dropped, there was a rumor floating around that Jay Z had been in meetings with Barneys about a possible team effort. It was here that I imagined what might be contained in this then-hypothetical crapsule collection, including but not limited to the “Pet Roc” and a pair of pricey, basic-ass bluejeans you’re supposed to sag so they look “rap”, a hat tip to Kanye’s $150 white “Hip-Hop” t-shirt. Nobody believed me the first time around, so go bask in both my hilarity and prescience now, because it’s my birthday (it really is) and I deserve those pageviews, goddammit.

So I was a little off; Jay Z for Barneys is real, but for their annual holiday collection in an unnecessary and exhausting melée similar to the “Gaga’s Workshop” concept of yore. Basically, the items will be limited editions by other designers like Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler, and not a played out paean to rappers’ style, style which is typically built upon status-beacon luxury goods created by other, actual designers. Like Kafka’s metamorphosis but with more swag.

This news comes on the heels of Kanye’s comments that Hedi Slimane “has some nice $5,000 jeans in there, it’s some nice ones here and there, some good shit here and there, but we are culture,” referring to rappers as the new rock stars. Press outlets are spinning this comment as a claim that Hedi “copied” him, dots I’m not necessarily connecting, although it doesn’t do much to curb my opinion that while celebrity (rapper or otherwise) attention may be a huge help in selling units, it creates a certain dissonance with quality and a focused point of view. Kanye wants to be fashion, an ethos which serves only to create obedient clones in his image, followers of his admittedly controversial my-way-or-no-way persona. We call these people hypebeasts, not exactly aesthetic pioneers.

There’s no way to keep smug celeb mugs out of our advertising pages and TV commercials, but can we stop pretending that they occupy the design (or mostly even curation) chair the way your “average” career designer does? Just because someone can afford luxury doesn’t mean that they’ve got relevant new ideas that people want to wear, and it’s even worse when we’re expected to delusionally picture Yeezy or Jay slaving over a Cray-Pa-stained sketchpad in the dead of night. Puh-leeease.

Until the day that Drake announces a “Marjan Pejoski’s Room” collaboration with Bergdorf’s, we’re all set.

from BULLETT magazine

[Picasso]

Hate as much as you want but music and fashion have always reflected each other. Matter fact ye just did an interview where he discussed fashion. apparently he tried to propose leather jogging pants to fendi 5 years ago...they turned him down. Now Hedi's SL line is basically leather pants and black tops.

Actually here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx3X4r-eCYQ

Can admit he comes of arrogant but how else can you succeed without having confidence.

[Bson]

Edit:: Actually..... Apparently I'm mistaken, sadly....

[snafu]

what a cock seriously.

[lowrey]

Can admit he comes of arrogant but how else can you succeed without having confidence.

well, I can think of quite a few people who have been succesful without being close-to-psychotic egomaniacs...

I have always appreciated some aspects of his music and production skills, but as a person he is gradually becoming more and more of a nutjob, and when it comes to any sort of "design" he likes to associate himself with, its make-believe garbage to feed his ego.

[Crowzer]

Can't agree more. /facepalm

[Faust]

Yo yo!

"ITALIAN JOB: At the Balenciaga show, M.I.A. let slip she has a new fashion project. “I have a collaboration with Versace coming out in two weeks,” the English-Sri Lankan recording artist said from under her glossy black hoodie. Although she was mum on details, it is understood the project is for Donatella Versace’s second line Versus, which is to invite a range of designers and other creative types to interpret the brand. The first was London designer Jonathan William Anderson of J.W. Anderson."

[hurricane08]

Hate as much as you want but music and fashion have always reflected each other. Matter fact ye just did an interview where he discussed fashion. apparently he tried to propose leather jogging pants to fendi 5 years ago...they turned him down. Now Hedi's SL line is basically leather pants and black tops.

Actually here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx3X4r-eCYQ

Can admit he comes of arrogant but how else can you succeed without having confidence.

I managed to watch all the part 2

First of all ,he's not a rock star .

Second ,about confidence

After graduating from West Aurora High School, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to major in English. However, it soon became apparent to West that his busy class schedule was a detriment with his musical work, and at the age of 20 he made the decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.
Wikipedia

So Mr West should first graduate an art school or at least move and work under the directions of a fashion house ,so someone someday will really appreciate his work .

Third ,i think he should stop talking and screaming about what others do and focus on his real job,which is not rock for sure ,not even a 80's poser .

[Picasso]

I think where whats frustrates him is the fact that he can't get a chance. What does school have to do with anything? If I'm not mistaken Rick Owen didn't even know how to sew when he started designing. Look at him now.

Problem is a black designer won't get that chance. Like he said "All we can make is T's". Few black designers have been given the opportunities, everything they make is considered "urban wear". And in regards to his reference to rock, I think it's more-so about the effect that he's had on our culture. Where Stephen sprouse was basing everything of rock marc jacobs is doing the same thing with hip-hop now.

----Edit

I'm an avid defender of Kanye, mainly because I can understand where he came from.

[ironman]

hurricane08 also said OR move and work under the directions of a fashion house. you gotta learn somewhere.

After high school, Owens moved to L.A. and studied painting at Otis Art Institute for two years, then switched to L.A. Trade Technical College for patternmaking courses. He worked at various designer-knockoff houses until, at 37, he set up shop in a tiny studio on Hollywood Boulevard with an assistant and a seamstress and began presenting his clothes directly to retailers, store by store.

in what way do black designers not get a chance? off the top of my head, Olivier Rousteing, Ozwald Boateng, Eric Lebon, Zam Barrett?. i don't really pay attention i am sure there are many more. i don't know about you but i look at the clothes not the colour of the skin of the designer

and where exactly did he come from that it garners your understanding? he was middle class and his mom was a university professor

like others are saying, his ego is annoying

[hurricane08]

i think the problem is that some people like Kanye, when they think about fashion ,they think about success ,not to make clothes.It's not about being black or white,it's about if you have something to say through fashion.A couple of years ago he made a runaway show ,i mean he's not the person who won't have the chance.

[endorphinz]

how da fuck can you defend someone who denounces corporate everything and whose baby mama is a total construct of everything he claims to hate?

everything about this asshole is a contradiction.

one needs to look no further than the Taylor Swift vma incident to gain insight. it's unfortunate that modern culture condones & reinforces such boorish,obnoxious behaviour.... and before anyone claims "bad boy",egocentric behaviour has always been sanctioned I submit that the shit today isn't the same as rock star trashing of rooms in years past. current shit just smells differently.

I know,I know, I'm just an old dick who's blinded by the past.

of course, IMO... ymmv

btw: Michael Jordan is black... he "created" a pretty successful line for Nike,non?..... this whole discussion makes me nauseous.

I'm just waiting for yeezus (BARF) to pick on a paparazzi that can actually throw a punch.

[lowrey]

I think where whats frustrates him is the fact that he can't get a chance.

how doesn't he get a chance though? I think he is in a position where he has every chance to do whatever he wants and a million people will like it no matter what it is. he did a runway presentation under his own name, that was a chance to show something, but it was a total train wreck even though apparently he didn't even design much of it.

I'd say its pretty obvious he wants to do "design" because nowadays its cool to be a designer and branch out. Thats why you see musicians doing all these collaborations, I would say there are two reasons for it - its either about money or doing something cool.

[Picasso]

hurricane08 also said OR move and work under the directions of a fashion house. you gotta learn somewhere.



in what way do black designers not get a chance? off the top of my head, Olivier Rousteing, Ozwald Boateng, Eric Lebon, Zam Barrett?. i don't really pay attention i am sure there are many more. i don't know about you but i look at the clothes not the colour of the skin of the designer

and where exactly did he come from that it garners your understanding? he was middle class and his mom was a university professor

like others are saying, his ego is annoying

3 Designers out of how many? They're aren't that many. And you may look at clothes which is perfect but critics may not. That's half my beef with a lot of the major fashion critics. And he's from the Chi. It's never easy growing up here. We're going through gentrification right now, murder capital of the U.S. The urban youth don't have a shot at success so it was huge for him to make it. Think it's coincidence that the two biggest Chicago rappers are most outspoken? (Lupe). You may not agree with kanye and I don't fully either but all im saying is, i see were it's all coming from.

i think the problem is that some people like Kanye, when they think about fashion ,they think about success ,not to make clothes.It's not about being black or white,it's about if you have something to say through fashion.A couple of years ago he made a runaway show ,i mean he's not the person who won't have the chance.

I can agree with this in regards to success. If I'm not mistaken he was criticized for his use of leather in that show. I don't see anyone criticizing Hedi, or Olivier.

[endorphinz]

And he's from the Chi. It's never easy growing up here. We're going through gentrification right now, murder capital of the U.S. The urban youth don't have a shot at success so it was huge for him to make it.

oh, ok. now I get it....and him