“What the fuck am I doing?”, is a question that I ask my self more and more these days. Today, I asked this question as I rolled out of bed at 6:30 in the morning. Why? Because yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to attend a theatrical live stream of Kanye West’s Adidas collaborative launch. Upon hearing of the availability of limited public invitations yesterday, I nonchalantly sent an email requesting access to the screening. By midday, I had received confirmation, with a stern request to be at Melbourne Central’s Hoyts Cinemas by 7:30am.
Although it seems douchey, there’s something exciting about being on a tram full of people heading to work, knowing that I was about to bear witness to something truly unique. Douchey? Yes. But, admittedly, how often does one get the privilege to attend a cinematic live stream of a fashion extravaganza. Even if it is orchestrated by the likes of Kanye West. Or maybe that’s the entire point.
Before arriving at the Melbourne Central, an amalgamation of forum posts informed me that some cinemas were giving free white Adidas jackets to the lucky first twenty attendees. However, it didn’t seem to be the case at all, meaning that my full-pelt sprint to the cinema was entirely in vein. As we sluggishly filed into our seats, utterly demented by having to be awake at 7am, we were greeted by the same countdown that Ye himself had been tweeting for the previous week. A large majority of the cinema stared slug-eyed at their Twitter feeds, until the timer hit 0.
The excitement was palpable. The glow of social media in the theater dimmed, as the timer faded to black to expose the official 45 second advertisement that had been revealed on the internet just twenty or so minutes prior to the screening. The ad played once. Then it played again. Then it played a third time. And then a fourth. A fifth. A sixth. At this stage, pockets of laughter burst from the audience, as this was obviously the arrogant repetition of “Niggas in Paris” all over again. After what seemed to be the thirtieth run of the ad, a staff member announced that the stream had been delayed, and that this was not intentional.
Thirty minutes of the same 45 seconds is agonising. It was then a moment of pure elation as the screen finally faded to black, exposing an exposed warehouse. A dot grid formation of approximately five by five models stood perfectly still in the center, as the voice of the supposed director patiently told all those who were not performing to move away from the stage. The director counted down from five, stopping between four to three to sternly remind the models, “Remember: No Smiling.”
The doors opened, as the models cast in the shadows remained perfectly still as the likes of media press and celebrities entered the room. Mutterings could be heard between them, while camera flashes occasionally burst. The crying of a child in the background left me to wonder whether it was Nori. I’m sure the paparazzi will link these whines as a valid reason to write yet another article outlining the baseless claims of Kanye and Kim’s impending divorce, but I digress. A full 50 minutes from the intended starting time, the show began, with the screen once more fading to black.
“I chose to partner with Adidas, because as you will experience today, Adidas is a brand that enables creators to create,” Kanye’s voice filled the dark void, discussing the necessity of his partnership with Adidas. For all intent and purposes, he began what was to be a well edited Kanye rant. Like always, most of the positive message that Kanye attempts to spread will be ignored, as he called out the implicit lack of social acceptance towards creativity encouraging us to indulge our creative selves, “I want people to think more. I want people to feel like it’s OK to create and follow what their dreams are.” As he’s stated many times before, Kanye believes that creativity is in a state of decline, proclaiming that, “There’s a lack of creativity in every field,” which is subjectively evident on any recent listening of an Iggy Azalea song. He proceeded by stating that the intention behind his fashion based endeavours stemmed from the contemplation of the mark that he will leave on culture, “I want to create something better for you. It’s bigger than who I am. It’s about, ‘When I was on Earth, who did I help?” The screen faded to black once more.
The above floodlights gradually illuminated the previously shadowed models, as a single sustained trumpet note cut through a heavy silence. As the note rang out, the camera focussed on the unflinchingly stern faces of the models, before they recessed to the last row in an army-like disciplined fashion. The sustained brass was undeniably eerie, void of the immense detail that usually colours Kanye’s albums, creating a desolate and tense atmosphere which was only amplified by the underlying silence. While it was overtly simplistic, it hearkened back to the thoughtless uniformity that Kanye commented on in Yeezus’ New Slaves. For those familiar with the workings of esteemed performance artist Vanessa Beecroft, it was strikingly obvious how influential she was as a collaborator of this – lack of a better term – performance.
And that’s just it. It was such a powerful presentation that it became difficult to focus on the clothing itself. Much of the range was overtly simplistic, resembling something of a coutuer American Apparel collection. It was hard to discern what would be on sale for the masses, and what was simply curated for the show. A number of female models wore tattered tube tops, while others wore entire body suites. Notably, not one single Adidas logo was on display throughout the entire show. The schematic like bomber jackets were reminiscent of Kanye’s APC collaboration, with sleeveless and longer trench-coat-like variations on display. Unexpectadly, the Yeezy Boost itself was not the focus of the show, with a number of exaggerated boot variations also on display. Oh yeah, and for the wannabe-soldiers of the world, there were some camo-based derivitives. But that may just be cynicism.
The uniformity cannot be exaggerated. And this poses a number of questions, which could potentially expose the hipocritcal nature of this unique collaboration. The simplicity of the designs meant that no one individual model stood out, only amplifying the New Slave concept. But maybe that’s the point that Kanye attempted to make in his introduction. We, as the masses, need to think more about good design, and it’s Kanye’s exaggerated arrogance that offers the solution to our lack of taste.
But before anyone in the audience could begin to postulate about the underlying thematic intentions of the range, the screen once again cut to black. Then we lost our shit, as we saw this:
An intangible excitement flooded the cinema, as the signature distorted synth-bass now characteristic of Kanye’s sonic aesthetic rattled us dry. A lone ominous female voice hovered in and out, and Ye made it evident that he refuses to heed any criticism that anyone may have of Antare’s AutoTune plug-in. The camera panned across the rarely blinking models, and even Nori seemed to stop crying. From the back row, Kanye shouldered his way through the columns of models, making his way to the front. He subtly bowed his head with some solemnity, and then quickly withdrew out of view before the mild applause could even cease. The lights faded, bookending to our opening impression, as the models were once again cast into the shadows.
Twenty minutes later, I was serving customers in my menial retail job, still completely confused as to what the fuck I had just witnessed. I zoned out, peacefully smug in my own elitism of knowing I was privileged enough to be in attendance. And that’s the beauty of Kanye West. Despite being one of the most successful and popular recording artists of our time, he creates a sense of exclusivity that arguably convinces many of us that we’re apart of something beyond our plebian reach. He turns the illusive into something intangible. If that means polarising the masses, then so be it. Yeezy season approaching, fuck whatever y’all been hearing.
The full stream of Wolves feat. Vic Mensa & Sia can be found below:
Aidan Galea is a freelance writer and a Kanye tragic, you can follow him on Twitter at @agalea
