This afternoon, Kanye West will present his fourth Yeezy collection at New York Fashion Week. As usual, very little is known about what will be shown, how it will be presented, and where the spectacle is taking place. As students worldwide fire up their laptops anticipating the livestream, we round up what we know thus far.
It’s going down in a “remote location” and editors are taking busses:
People love to make jokes about Brooklyn show venues being akin to Siberia. Well, West is having the last laugh: earlier today, editors who were allocated tickets received emails that shuttle busses will depart from a Manhattan location at 1:30 PM this afternoon, in advance of the 3 PM showtime at an undisclosed venue that has since been revealed as Roosevelt Island. This email cautioned that those who miss these busses should expect a 15 minute walk from the nearest taxi drop-off point to this venue. Looks like Kanye designed those Yeezy duck boots for a reason.
The cast is still coming together:
A casting agent was spotted at West’s St. Pablo tour show at Madison Square Garden last night seeking last minute extras for today’s outing. Given that last year’s behemouth Yeezy Season 3 cast included over 1,000 people, it’s tough to gauge how big this year’s crew will be. It’s only slightly easier to gauge what the models might look like — according to a rather controversial casting call, he’s only looking for “multiracial women only.” But Kanye has since clarified that the wording was supposed to be inclusive rather than exclusive. “How do you word the idea that you want all variations of black?” West asked Vogue following the backlash. “How do you word that exactly?”
Tidal is livestreaming the show at 3 PM:
Last night Kanye Tweeted out a link that will give Tidal subscribers access to a livestream of the Yeezy Season 4 extravaganza. Non-subscribers are only granted permission to view a one-minute preview of the show. Hopefully you didn’t cancel your subscription once Ye’s epic “Fade” video — also a Tidal exclusive — hit YouTube two days ago.
E! will (sort of) be broadcasting the event:
It’s not too much of a surprise that Kanye has teamed up with the channel behind his wife Kim Kardashian West’s reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. According to The Hollywood Reporter, E! is returning as the official media partner of NYFW, which means a select few shows — including Yeezy Season 4 — will be getting the recap treatment.
It might include children’s clothes:
Earlier this year Kanye revealed that Yeezy Season 4 would consist of children’s clothes only. “Season 4 I’m only working on kid’s clothing…full time,” he tweeted a few days before his Madison Square Garden spectacular. While leaks of the collection have since dispelled the rumor that only very tiny adults would be squeezing into Season 4, it’s quite likely that some children’s offerings will make their way to shop floors. His daughter North has been frequently spotted in custom Yeezy threads — and according to Kim’s must-follow Snapchat, will probably be sporting custom-made baby versions of Yeezy 350s and Crepe boots. “We’ve had to make all these clothes from scratch for North and for Saint,” Kanye has now said. “And in the process it was just inevitable that we make kids’ clothes. With me and my wife, we have a different perspective on the way that kids swag out. And it’s all just slowly coming together.”
It definitely includes jewelry:
A sneak peak of the new collection obtained by Vogue revealed that jewelry will be included in the Yeezy Season 4 offerings. The photo shows a model in a white cashmere-like sweater and a delicate gold chain with a plate engraved “Saint.”
The collection continues to build on Ye’s love for elevated army surplus staples:
The utilitarian aesthetic established over the last three Yeezy collections will be further honed in Season 4. “I want to make pieces that can be timeless,” Kanye said this week. “Pieces that you can pick up out of a vintage store in 20 years and say, ‘Wow, I’m happy I have this.’ Season 3 saw the rapper/designer inject bolder colors and fresh silhouettes into the mix, so we can probably expect that trajectory to continue.
It’s (sort of) inspired by strip malls and gated communities:
Kanye intended for the hottest tickets of NYFW to be accompanied by adidas sweatpants featuring the iconic triple stripes and the word “Casablanca,” in reference the gated community in Palm Desert. He claims to find endless inspiration in the quiet stretch of (very expensive) land’s strip malls and sweeping gated communities, and wants to open the very first Yeezy brick-and-mortar somewhere nearly — or at least somewhere in the state of California.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley and Emily Manning
Photography Emily Manning