Kanye West resurfaced with a secret fashion show for Yeezy Season 10, but it mysteriously featured more Frank Ocean than fashions.
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Even diehard fans of the Donda rapper don’t know exactly what to expect from a Kanye West production. The unpredictable artist has a reputation for featuring everything from his “White Lives Matter” t-shirt to gospel choirs with his edgy ensembles. This time, Highsnobiety reports that Kanye launched Yeezy Season 10 with a secret fashion show and very few new designs.
What is a fashion show without fashions, except Kanye being Kanye? While the rest of the industry was focused on the 2023 Met Gala as fashion’s biggest night in NYC, Kanye did the opposite. His pop-up presentation took place in Los Angeles on the same night, May 1. It was uncharacteristically quiet and sounds more like performance art than a typical runway.
The surprise show was “an extremely low-key affair that barely revealed any clothing or fashion designs at all. Instead, the focus was on a group of skinhead models wearing skin-tight white T-shirts with black pants and little else,” according to Highsnobiety.
Kanye reportedly began working on the collection in late April, and that was one of the few things that actually showed at the Season 10 debut. His auditions for bald models sparked jokes about nostalgia for Amber Rose and more Matrix-inspired apocalypse chic.
However, the result sparked several “cult-like” reactions. A cult is probably the kindest description for a sea of uniformed “skinheads.” Another featured fashion was the sole-less sock sneakers Ye recently rocked.
Ultimately, the elusive and recently injured Frank Ocean had more of a presence via playlist than the man of the hour. The models walked the runway to Frank Ocean’s “Self Control” while holding candles in the curiously curated show. The cars dropping off the models also blasted Frank’s music.
Kanye dipped on his own show after the initial check-ins with the cast. Instead, “Ye reportedly spent the rest of the night in a car” with his new wife Bianca Censori.
Attendees didn’t get much facetime with Kanye, but they didn’t leave the event completely empty-handed. The “YZY FREE” event offered guests the same electric white second skin t-shirt all his bald models wore.
The theme of the sparse and rugged exhibition remains a mystery. Kanye’s largely symbolic showcase took place in a bare warehouse. Rumors claim that it is the location of his first retail store or a new office for the brand. It is also conveniently (and pettily) located next to the Los Angeles Adidas store.
The event seemed like an effort to prove that controversial Kanye doesn’t need the industry after his repeated anti-Semitic rants made him untouchable. However, his defiant display’s unfinished feel left many fans wanting more.
Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, Def Jam, CAA talent agency. JP Morgan Chase, MRC Studios, Foot Locker, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, The RealReal, Marshalls, Madame Tussauds London, and even Kanye’s legal team severed ties with him.
While Kanye’s devoted followers await the rollout of the whitest and tightest t-shirts imaginable, this next chapter of the brand remains uncertain.
What do you think of Kanye West’s secret Yeezy Season 10 fashion show?