Five Heavyweight Fashion Critics Weigh in on Kanye West

Kanye West’s fashion endeavors are a polarizing topic, to say the least. From one perspective, Kanye is a pioneer, an ambassador, and the true liaison between the streets and the catwalk; art imitating life, or something like that. To other parties though, West is little more than a figurehead, dabbling in fashion as a star athlete might pick up golf in the off-season. Fashion site WhoWhatWear has pulled aside pundits from Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and InStyle to create a collage of opinions on Kanye West’s future success in light of his recent endeavor with adidas.

Interesting that these critics, who largely represent the voice of the latter, are ostensibly positive about West’s potential, interest and perseverance, but often reluctant to commend his actual offerings. In light of this, it’s hard not to recall West’s notions of exclusivity in his interview with Zane Lowe; the belittling rhetoric between the lines is perhaps as damaging as outward denial. Yet somewhat ironically, West’s well-noted tenacity elongates the conversation, giving the newly-minted designer a chance to respond – with designs this time. Check out some key excerpts below, and see all the insights over at WhoWhatWear.com.

Alexandra Jacobs: The fashion industry is lucky to have him interested–every show he attends swivels more eyeballs to their brands. And as The New York Times’s Matthew Schneier recently reported, Kanye’s own show for Adidas was the most tweeted and Instagrammed of New York Fashion Week, for what that’s worth–which I don’t think has been fully quantified yet. But regardless of whether the clicks continue to the cash register, people will always be hungry for what Diana Vreeland used to call “pizzazz,” and [as they're] lacking it in the atelier, where corporatized creative directors have largely supplanted outspoken eccentrics, they are understandably turning to popular culture. I don’t see any reason why Kanye couldn’t do as well as the Olsen twins, who, let’s remember, had a line at Wal-Mart before starting The Row.

Lynn Yaeger: I honestly think that Kanye West is obsessed with fashion. So, when he’s at the shows, he’s there because he loves fashion. If people start to like the clothes [he designs] I think he does have a chance of making it. The baby on Full House, who was played by twins, [well] those twins grew up to become The Row. If anyone would’ve told me that—that they would start a legitimate fashion house that everyone loves—I would have said, you’re insane! So I think that if Kanye develops as a designer and he takes it seriously—finds his niche or whatever—[he'll succeed]. I mean, who the hell knows in today’s world!