Ye’s Hive Mind
“YE” by Joshua Miles via Instagram
In December 2023, Yeezy released a compression sock-like shoe with an invisible sole, available just before the arrival of the brand’s newly hired head of design and infamous Russian fashion designer, Gosha Rubchinskiy. The YZY Pods, available in three different sizes, indicate the various size ranges provided. They boast a sock-like design and can be purchased for $200 on the brand’s official website. There is massive speculation about who the original creator of the sock-like shoe design is. Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga, co-founder of Vetements, has released his version in past years and continues revamping and innovating the sock shoe design today. Ye, formerly and internationally known as Kanye West, is no stranger to reinterpreting the past in his creative endeavors, as his discography and fashion genius create a world of symmetry in his mind. His rise in high fashion has been both supported and hindered by the controversy surrounding his fame and status. Despite criticism for his sometimes outrageous media antics and outspoken political views, West's bold approach and meticulous attention to detail through his cohesive brand identities have made him a significant pioneer in contemporary fashion and reinvention. Before Yeezy, West experimented with two clothing brand concepts in the 2000s during his College Dropout days, signaling his streetwear meets prep aesthetic of varsity jackets, argyle sweaters, and rugby polos. Mascotte By K. West and Pastelle (which saw collaboration between himself, Virgil Abloh, and Kim Jones) never materialized massively or were successfully distributed. In 2011, West introduced his Spring/Summer collection for Dw by Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week as a tribute to his late mother, Donda West. The first-ever show showcased a range of designs, including snakeskin prints, form-fitting leather garments, and luxurious fur, toting an inspiration for Olivier Rousteing’s direction for Balmain, who was crowned creative director of the brand that same year. Faced with criticism, West was criticized by fashion gatekeepers who told him to stick to his day job, pointing out the show’s lack of coherence and depth. He seemed to have portrayed what he thought was “fashion” at the time, or a skewed idea of what it entails through fame and desire. West named and gave tribute to his mother, but the viewer questioned where his mother's ideas fit into his vision of what clothing, validation, and design meant to him as an African-American rapper and producer turned designer. Dw by Kanye West ceased operations after releasing its second collection. Consequently, this marked the beginning of West's transition from maximalism to embracing neutral color schemes, subdued concepts, and staunch minimalism as an approach to wardrobe design. Due to the immediate triumph of his initial Yeezy sneaker in collaboration with Nike, which swiftly sold out upon its release in 2009, retailers recognized the imprudence of excluding individuals like West from their business. Following the dissolution of the Nike partnership, West transitioned to Adidas, commencing their collaboration in 2015. Yeezy Season 1 debuted in February 2015 at New York Fashion Week, captivating the world's attention with what would be a cultural reset. This highly anticipated partnership between the multi-talented rapper-turned-designer and Adidas Originals featured a military-like, athleisure apparel collection, highlighting a color scheme predominantly composed of mostly neutral palettes with army greens, faint blues, and blacks. West cited his main inspirations as Helmut Lang, Raf Simons, and Margiela, as Ye is undoubtedly a fashion theorist at heart, enabling fashion as a state of mind or an “as within, so without” mantra.
In 2022, shortly after Kanye West announced his separation from The Gap, the company swiftly responded by taking immediate measures to eliminate all products associated with West from their shelves. This decision was prompted by the rapper's offensive remarks that targeted the Jewish community. First introduced in 2020, Yeezy Gap was conceived as a decade-long collaboration between West and the renowned American fashion brand. While Yeezy Gap planned product launches in 2021, including the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collection, West’s partnership with Gap never continued to release any further collections. The Adidas split and Balenciaga ties soon severed, marking another career descent for the rapper. Despite the widespread praise that the Yeezy brand has received over time, West's relentless and eccentric behavior has enabled him to maintain his outsider status amidst his achievements. Fans either praise him as a brilliant innovator or scorn and ridicule him for his overwhelming self-assurance or arrogance, perplexing remarks, and inclination to display public outbursts of anger, which makes Ye one of the most controversial creative and marketing innovators of his time. He possesses a captivating quality that triggers consumers of the digital age and strikes our emotions toward a figure who embraces deliberate exclusion and alienation in creative expression.
