Last night, Kanye West presented his latest sneaker, the muted Yeezy 750 Boost, and his first collection for Adidas. In collaboration with performance artist Vanessa Beecroft, the show featured a diverse army of models standing at attention in the artist's signature style (notably, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, Kylie made her runway debut). As flesh-toned takes on the leotard, distressed oversized sweaters and lots of camo covered the stage, a recording of Kanye filled the room and explained why he continues to do fashion projects despite the less than adoring response he's received in the past. "I want people to feel like awesome is possible," said West. It was nothing short of inspiring and reminded the audience of West's love of expressing his creativity in new ways. And speaking of Kanye West expressing himself in a myriad of ways last night, West also unveiled the first track from his upcoming album, "Wolves," during the presentation.
With an all-star front row that included Anna Wintour, Rihanna and Beyoncé, the audience was part top fashion press, part cool kids and part superstar. Backstage, West was first congratulated by his wife Kim Kardashian, who attended the show with baby North, mom Kris and sisters Khloe and Kendall. Following close behind was Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour whom West told he was '"choked up." The photographers called for a photo of West and Wintour, and the Vogue editrix pulled Kardashian, clad in head-to-toe Yeezy, into the picture. Next followed a literal cavalcade of the biggest stars in music: Jay Z and Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Diddy. It felt more like the Vanity Fair Oscar party than the backstage of a NYFW show. Having seen Kardashian twice in the past three days, I assured her, "I promise I'm not stalking you," as I kissed her goodbye. She smiled and said, "I wouldn't mind if you were."
Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Big Sean. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Adidas.
Rihanna and Beyoncé. Photo by Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images for Adidas.
P. Diddy and Kanye West. Photo by Dimitrios Kamboris/Getty Images for Adidas.