Kanye West’s Yeezy 4 presentation on Wednesday for his collaboration with Adidas was much like its designer: controversial, polarizing and widely discussed. Needless to say, he kicked off New York Fashion Week with a bang. Here, ten things you should know about what happened before, after and during the fashion show.
It was held on Randall’s Island: Editors were shipped out to the New York City island via bus to the venue, which according to the sign in this photo tweeted by a attendee, was a smallpox hospital in another life.
It started late, leaving models and editors alike to wait in the hot sun: Attendees took to Twitter in the downtime.
But in case you wanted to pass the time with retail therapy, they had merchandise for sale: It wouldn’t be a Kanye joint without some merch and the Yeezy Season 4 shirts apparently went for $75 a pop, according to according to Times reporter Guy Trebay.
Notable attendees included Desiigner, Pusha T, Virgil Abloh, and the entire Kardashian Krew: Desiigner sat front row next to Cavs baller (and Teyana Taylor’s trophy husband), Iman Shumpert. Also spotted at the show was model Winnie Harlow and Kanye collaborator and Off-White designer Virgil Abloh and President of GOOD Music Pusha T. West’s wife Kim and co (Kendall and Kylie showed up to the show with Tyga in tow.) The New York Times’ Vanessa Friedman took to Twitter to say that the Kardashian family members arrived late.
This was the first runway show that Kanye has done with Yeezy x Adidas: Previously, West has only shown his Yeezy collections during performances; this was the first time that he’s used a runway to show his wares. It’s also worth noting that this is the first all-female show that he’s done for the Yeezy x Adidas collaboration, which begs the question whether or not this season will mean only womenswear for Yeezy.
It was created with long-time Kanye West collaborator Vanessa Beecroft: The show was billed as a “Performance by Vanessa Beecroft” and the women who stood within the grass on the runway reflected Beecroft’s signature aesthetic.
One model appeared to pass out; others sat because of the elements: The Cut’s Stella Bugbee documented a model’s apparent fainting spell, while others reported that models were sitting because of the heat. Those viewing the live stream saw that one rogue model left to get water for herself and her fellow models.
Sofia Richie made her runway debut at the show: Celebrity progeny/little sister Sofia Richie made headlines recently for her association with a young man who goes by the name of Justin Bieber. After her turn on Kanye’s runway, however, it looks like she might be getting buzz from the fashion world.
Kanye’s boots (and shoes) are not for walking: Yeezy favorite model Amina Blue had to take her shoes off at the end of the runway, while another model needed assistance from Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Bruce Pask to finish her walk.
Teyana Taylor and Chanel Iman closed the show: Kanye protégée, “Fade” muse, and all-around multi-talented performer, Taylor took to the runway to slay us all, while supermodel Chanel Iman closed the show.
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Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com