Kanye West had his moment on the first day of New York Fashion Week — an extravaganza at Madison Square Garden to debut tracks from his new album “The Life of Pablo” and Yeezy Season 3, the third showing of his fashion collection for Adidas.
Not our job to judge the music, which sounded pretty good, though played at deafening decibels, but the clothes and the presentation were confusing. First up, in walked all those Kardashian-Jenners, complete with baby Saint in tow. They were wearing white, lots of it skin-tight, some sparkly, some furry.
This was in stark contrast to the models, who were initially hidden under an undulating tarp. When it was raised, a pack of models in all sorts of activewear stood on tall podiums with an unmoving throng of people below — 1,200 of them to be exact.
The scene was apocalyptic. There was plenty of drab, though the colors were brightened up from last season and featured some blasts of yellow, purple and red. But the most striking thing about it all was how sad, and how uncomfortable, the models looked. As a camera panned their faces, there was a melancholy that was palpable. One man looked like he was actually crying; a woman appeared to be talking to herself.
You could almost imagine West giving directions: “I want you to look miserable, no smiling.”
A moment of relief: Naomi Campbell, who did not look sad, wearing an oversized fur coat.
For his part, West, surrounded by a worshipping posse, stood by the musical equipment and danced to his new tunes. As for the clothes, they were interesting if not groundbreaking, but we predict the cool shoes and boots — some with toothy soles — will go bonkers at retail.
