Photo: Gianni Pucci

Kanye West is one of the most prominent figures in the entertainment industry, but few know that Mr. West has a love for fashion. He has gone from being a consistent presence in the front rows of major fashion shows to having one of his own.  Kanye has finally turned his love for fashion into practice.

Mr. West’s first collection exploded  during Paris Fashion Week. The guest list was just as impressive as the buzz surrounding the highly anticipated runway show. The front row seats were occupied by well-known designers like Azzedine Alaïa, Joseph Altuzarra, Alexander Wang, and highly influential editors like Anna Wintour and Glenda Bailey. In his after-party speech, Mr. West stated that he “gave his all” for this fashion show, from the best venue,  to the best designers, and models (Karlie Kloss, Chanel Iman, Anja Rubik, and Anna Selezne).

Despite the effort, Kanye’s fashion debut received mixed reviews. Eric Wilson, for the NY Times, was “confused“. Long Nguyen, the co-founder and style director of Flaunt, asked to Mr. West “to consider the reality of the fashion business” in her review for Fashionista.com. Many found the line too heavy, as it was weighed down in fur.  In his coverage of the show Black wrote that there was ”more fur than you’d want on a night when the mercury hit the roof in Paris,”. But perhaps the harshest (and briefest) comment came from Vogue Editor-in-Chief, Wintour. When asked what her thoughts were, she simply replied “ask someone else.”

Despite the negative reviews, there was some love out there for the music megastar-turned-designer. Music media watched out for their own and Billboard’s fashion blog, the Hook.  They thought “the collection was strong, showing great promise for the future.” This goes to show that Mr. West is beginning to build a fan base. Friend and fellow designer, Jeremy Scott said, in an interview for WWD, “I adore him and I think that he is such a passionate and genuine artist in every sense of the word.”

Though this was Mr. West’s first collection, the expectations were high and the media was harsh. To his credit, he did his best to overcome the label of “hip-hop mogul turned designer” by communicating his concern for high craftsmanship and couture. While his clothes did not receive the best feedback, West showed his determination to succeed in the fashion industry by graciously accepting all the negative criticism as incentive to improve (something he isn’t exactly known for). In his speech at the afterparty, he “thank[ed] anybody who came to this party, everybody who supported, everybody who believed, because people thought it was a joke, and maybe people still do, but I can only grow from this point.”