Here’s What Kanye’s New Yeezy Season 5 Collection Looks Like
On the penultimate day of New York Fashion Week, Kanye West finally delivered to fans and fashion insiders a collection that, until recently, wasn’t even confirmed to arrive.
West’s Yeezy Season 5 fashion show provided all of the things the musician turned designer is best known for, minus the drama. Celebrities like Vogue editor Anna Wintour and West’s wife, Kim Kardashian (obviously), attended the show, hosted at Chelsea Piers, notably a more conventional locale than West’s previous show venues.
Another steadfast figure in the West-Kardashian universe is Carine Roitfeld, who was responsible for casting the show. Roitfeld, the former editor in chief of Vogue Paris, who now has her own magazine, helped stack the show’s lineup with models like Luka Sabbat and the much-buzzed-about Halima Aden, a hijab-wearing novice.
As for the clothes themselves: there were camouflage track pants, head-to-toe denim, and big shearling coats. Denim and fur are new additions to the Yeezy repertoire. Several of the pieces were stamped with the words “Calabasas” and “Lost Hills,” referring to the California town where West resides with his Kardashian family. (Lost Hills is also rumored to be a musical collaboration between Kanye West and Drake that will drop the day of the show.)
The show’s accessories were just as buzzed about as the jackets, sweatpants, and hoodies. Rigid thigh-high boots completed an all-maroon look; duffle bags, more subdued than those of Yeezy shows past, made their mark. And we would be remiss not to mention the shoes that started it all: the Yeezy Boost sneakers also appeared on the runway.
Media critics are mostly on the same page when it comes to West’s new collection: the clothes aren’t “startling or new,” but fashion insiders are more forgiving this year, given West’s new-found restraint (i.e., not forcing hundreds to commute to Roosevelt Island on a blisteringly hot day, then making them wait hours for the show to begin). That said, Kanye West the designer is no Thom Browne.
To be sure, his fans don’t want him to be. While the scene outside West’s show was more subdued than usual, a few hundred people waited to catch a glimpse of West or his entourage. One such fan is Fonzy Bravo, a Brooklyn-based aspiring rapper and designer himself. Waiting outside of Pier 59 with friends before the show began, Bravo praised West, and did so again after seeing the collection.
“I liked certain pieces, mainly the shoes. I would have to style the clothes my own way. I didn’t like the style of the models, but I could definitely see myself in some of the jackets, sweatpants, sneakers, and boots.”
Despite the critics, it might be people like Bravo whose opinions really matter.
Alexandra Mondalek is a writer for Yahoo Style and Beauty. Follow her on Twitter @amondalek.
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