"Shoot for the stars, because even if you fall, you’ll land on a cloud."
Kanye West
Mom is the most important!
Kanye West was born in 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was just 3 years old, his parents Donda and Ray West decided to divorce. Little Kanye moved with his mother to Chicago and spent his vacations with his father. West's mother worked as an English teacher before becoming a professor in the field and the Dean of the English Language Department at the State University in Chicago. At the age of 10, West had to face another challenge of changing environment - his mother received an offer to participate in a university exchange, which meant moving to distant China. The Wests spent a year there. As Donda recalled, Kanye was the only child in his class not from China. Although the boy quickly learned the language, not much from those lessons has remained in his head to this day.
The formation of West's personality was also significantly influenced by his father and his daily activities. Ray West was an active member of the radical Black Panther Party, which actively defended the rights of the black minority in the USA. Ray was also the first black photojournalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In his later years, West's father worked at a church as a spiritual advisor.
Musical World of Kanye
Upon returning from China to Chicago, West was raised in an environment linked with rap music in an area called South Side. His mentor and friend became DJ and producer No I.D., who introduced him to the secrets of the hip-hop world. After finishing high school, Kanye received a scholarship at Chicago's American Academy of Art, but decided to drop out to pursue a musical career.
Kanye became famous in the music business for his unique style, incorporating traditional rap into various music genres - from soul samples, instrumental rock inserts, to elements of classics. The breakthrough in his career came when working on songs such as Jay Z's "This Can’t Be Life". New York in collaboration with the king of hip-hop - Jay Z - led Kanye to become a recognized musician awarded 21 Grammy Awards a few years later.
Kanye the Designer
Kanye is an artist of many faces and personalities, and each of his new projects is an expression of his alternative self-conception. Because Kanye is also Yeezy or Pablo. West has always been a fashion enthusiast. Among other things, he is responsible for the stylish transformation of Kim Kardashian-West, who thanks to social media, along with her sisters, has become a trend dictator and style icon. The beginning of Kardashian and West's relationship, and consequently, the complete wardrobe exchange of Kim, can be seen firsthand in one of the episodes of the record-breaking popular show: Keeping up with the Kardashians.
In 2009, Kanye collaborated with Nike, releasing a model of sneakers Air Yeezy. In the same year, in February, Louis Vuitton presented a line of footwear created for LV by the rapper. In 2011, he also designed a limited series of scarves for the exclusive French brand M/M. The collection was inspired by the works of George Condo.
In 2015, together with his wife, he collaborated on the Balmain campaign, promoting the spring-summer collection.
Yeezy Style
In 2015, the Yeezy brand was created. Adidas Originals was included in the collaboration. For Kanye, each show is a spectacle, and his main motto in artistic work in every field is avant-garde and uniqueness. Therefore, during the first fashion show during New York Fashion Week fall/winter 2015, he presented his line on models of various types of beauty and silhouette. Yeezy’s style strongly associates with functional military clothing. His collections are a combination of stretchy knits and cotton in various shades of nude. Yeezy can be associated with futuristic minimalism - you will not find prints or cheerful colors here. The designer’s avant-garde can be noticed in the killer shapes of creations. In West's collections, you can find many body-hugging leggings, crop tops, and voluminous sweatshirts with significantly elongated sleeves.
Although his creations divided critics' opinions, West won the most important review for a designer - his line was sold online in just 12 minutes.
