What’s Next For Kanye West?
A whirlwind of Gap x Balenciaga, Julia Fox, and wrestling with the reality of Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian
Kanye West
Kanye West is always in the middle of a redemption arc, it seems.
The rapper is known for being bold and brazen in all aspects of his life, and this has garnered him both recognition and respect in — seemingly — any endeavor, spanning industries like music, fashion, business, and culture.
However, this attitude has caused him strife in his internal life and catapulted him into controversy more and more often as he gets more and more famous.
From his decade-spanning drama with Taylor Swift, his inflammatory political takes, his unsuccessful and dangerous run for president, and his now-over relationship with Kim Kardashian, Kanye has made himself a mainstay in the news and a beacon for negative attention.
Now, Kanye is considered one of the most controversial figures in rap music, but his billionaire status and business success prove that he’s still successful in his creative endeavors — for better or for worse.
The past two years have been tumultuous for us all, but Kanye has experienced both professional and personal setbacks in full view of the public. From his presidential loss, his divorce, and losing one of his closest friends — Virgil Abloh — to a battle with cancer, things were looking bleak for Kanye West. Yet, Ye and his various ventures have already launched 2022 with a slew of private developments and fresh projects.
The Yeezy Life
For a while, Yeezys were the pinnacle of sneakerhead obsessions. Though many initially doubted Kanye’s foray into fashion, he established himself as a visionary and pioneered trends like monochrome, earth tones, athleisure, oversized silhouettes, and space-age shapes.
With the Kardashians his own personal models and brand promoters, Yeezy was the darling of the streetwear set and the high-fashion crowd alike.
The brand keeps expanding including his recent collaboration with GAP — YZY — a more affordable iteration of the classic Kanye style. Despite pandemic launch delays and legal issues, YZY’s limited releases have already proven successful.
On January 7, 2022, this high-low venture grew even more luxe with the announcement that the major fashion house Balenciaga has joined Yeezy and Gap in the “YEEZY GAP ENGINEERED BY BALENCIAGA” collab.
Kanye has been a major fan and patron of Balenciaga and its creative director Demna Gvasalia for years, often wearing the brand when not wearing his own. This news comes as a welcome surprise to fans who are eager to see what the two create, as well as the chance to buy Balenciaga at more affordable prices.
The Kim Kardashian-ificatin of Julia Fox
But GAP is not the only one getting a Kanye and Demna inspired makeover. While Kim Kardashian’s post-divorce relationship with Pete Davidson has been the one getting all the press so far, the Kanye West/Julia Fox relationship Julia Fox is now on our radars after their tell-all feature with Interview Magazine.
The piece follows Kanye and Julia’s date night, which is so much more than your average dinner-n-movie. (Kim and Pete already did that — in Staten Island no less). So, of course, Kanye had to go one step further to intrigue the press.
The most unique aspect of the date is when Julia reveals that Kanye had prepared a slate of outfits for her. And then he dressed her for their night — and the inescapable paparazzi — the outfits being Balenciaga ensembles of course.
“Ye had an entire hotel suite full of clothes,” Fox revealed. “It was every girl’s dream come true. It felt like a real Cinderella moment.” Kanye also engineered a photoshoot for Julia while they dined to document the night — making memories the two of them could cherish forever— while sharing with the entire world of course.
This highly curated aspect is reminiscent of the beginning of Kanye’s relationship with Kim. While already a reality star, Kim was not taken seriously by high fashion until Kanye came along. When their wedding was featured on the cover of the September 2013 Vogue, many were up in arms. But Kanye had the vision to elevate her look and make Kim the biggest name in fashion … and he did.
So, perusing the date photos is giving us some serious deja vu harkening back to early KimYe content. Paired with the new YZY collab, Kanye seems to be exiting that smattering of 2021 low moments with projects that are sure amplify his status to the stratosphere. The man is a master curator and what he’s curating now is an overhaul of his brand and his life, hoping for a return to grace. And all we can do is watch.
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