Kanye West made his runway debut over the weekend. The Yeezy founder opened Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2023 show in Paris, wearing an all-black, combat-ready look that included a baseball cap and heavy-duty utility vest both emblazoned with the word “Security.”
The runway itself, which was set up outdoors at the city’s Parc des Expositions, appeared to be an ankle-deep mud bog.
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What is most amazing is that Kanye’s four kids — North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian were in attendance to cheer him on, along with Kylie Jenner.
According to Elle, other celebrities that were present at the show included Doja Cat and “Euphoria” star Alexa Demie.
Later in the show, Bella Hadid and other models appeared with makeup that made them look “bruised and beaten.”
The dramatic look came shortly after Hadid’s headline-making appearance at the Coperni show, where she was dressed in nothing more than a spray-painted design that had been applied in front of attendees in real-time.
Demna Gvasalia, the creative director of Balenciaga, introduced the collection by referring to personal identity as a “battlefield.”
“One needs to have courage and persistence to truly assume their identity and who they really are,” read part of his statement.
“And the more you try to be yourself the more you get punched in your face … The challenge is to get up and keep walking towards your true self after you have been beaten up and knocked down.”
Santiago Sierra, a conceptual artist known for controversial projects that question social inequality, created the mud-splattered backdrop for the presentation.
He paid a group of heroin-addicted prostitutes the cost of a hit of the drug in exchange for allowing him to tattoo a line across each of their backs in one of his most infamous works, “160 cm Line Tattooed on 4 People,” which was executed in 2000.
Gvasalia described Sierra’s set as “a metaphor for digging for the truth and being down earth.”
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Betsey Johnson, a legendary designer, was among those who reacted to Ye’s first runway modeling gig. Kanye posted an Instagram Story screenshot of a text message he received from the iconic 80-year-old fashion designer.
She wrote, “I felt a little bit emotional when you walked. It felt really special.”
Kanye West replied, “After all the battles Even this year Pretty amazing I’m emotional too. We have more battles ahead of us. But we’re going to win God is on our side.”
