Beyonce On The FROW & Military Models: Inside Kanye West’s Adidas Originals Show

‘Awesome is possible… there’s a lack of creativity in every field because people are afraid… as an artist in this world we can do whatever we want…’ Kanye’s words bellowed out loud and clear as the fashion public and some pretty important FROWers (Jay Z, Kim Kardashian, Anna Wintour and Beyonce were all cheek-to-cheek - in the bottom sense) sat in the darkness of an industrial building in Manhattan’s West Side waiting for something – anything – to reveal itself of Kanye’s new fashion project: a collaboration with the now endlessly reputable adidas Originals.

It’s not the rap mogul's first fashion show and we’re certain it won’t be his last – but irrelevant of this fact show-goers were beyond-eager, scrum-worthy-eager, to witness a slice of Yeezy Season One. The wait of 45 minutes plus (in, may we add, pretty cold climes) was just a part one of the dedication test. We passed the test. Scurrying through the unlit industrial presentation space to find our seat we battled blind spots, big coats, angry people sans allocation and sidestepped anchored models in the pitch black. Again, we passed the next stage of the test and found our seat. Determined? Us? Kanye? You betcha.

The lights went up and an impressive number of both men’s and women’s ensembles calmly paced before us in a kind of rotating runway. A hip crew with street-cast appeal, Kanye’s kids looks liked urban cave dwellers, if such a thing could exist. There were raw hems, sludgy tonal dressing (you can see why wifey Kim Kardashian West has been at the forefront of this one for a while, then), tights stretched over stilettos to make boots, skull caps, sweatshirts savagely cut and torn away from the body, utility gear and bullet-proof vest-style gilets, camo colours with high octane pops of coral… this collection felt decisive and effortless despite the (perhaps ironically?) verbose intro.

One look at Kanye’s humble (and very brief) catwalk bow and you start to understand he isn’t the big I AM you may assume – this is a man with grand fashion dreams, yes, but one who truly wants to create, impress his peers and critics and has likely done so with a range that isn’t trying to be couture or ground-breaking in the most obvious sense. Instead this is a play on strengths - bringing together the best elements of his personal style along with what he’s obviously absorbed so keenly over the years.

He’s hung out with, interned with and worked with countless fashion people… and alongside his new cheerleader, Wintour, there’s no doubt Yeezy’s acquired an roster of reliable mentors who only want to assist in his domination of this industry following the music business – unless he gets bored and moves onto architecture or baking, that is. Expect great queues and much hype when this hits rails, it will fly out of stores and rightly so - Kanye’s hit his sartorial nail on the head.

See more from the show in the gallery below...