Kanye West, Donald Trump and Martin Margiela — What?
When is it not all about Kanye West, even in the aftermath of a bitterly fought presidential election? He first raised eyebrows Thursday night at his concert in San Jose by telling fans he didn’t vote, but he “would’ve voted for Trump.” He followed that up by applauding Trump’s campaign as “absolutely genius” and confirmed he was still considering a presidential run in 2020, which he famously announced during last year’s VMAs.
Days later, after going on another rant at his Sacramento concert and cutting it short, he canceled what was left of his Saint Pablo tour. He then spent much of Sunday on Instagram, where he posted 99 blurry photos of vintage designs by Maison Martin Margiela, possibly from a 1999 lookbook. The number 99 would seem to indicate an escalation of a feud with Jay Z, who, along with his wife Beyonce, is on friendly terms with the Obamas. It was after this that West was hospitalized in LA — for exhaustion.
While it’s unclear what exactly sent West off the deep end and down the rabbit hole, it’s pretty clear he’s obsessed with the Paris-based house. He name-dropped the label in his collaborative album with Jay Z in 2011 and praised the announcement that John Galliano would become the new creative director two years ago. He’s also worked with the brand for his Yeezus tour in 2013.
So perhaps West is working on another collaboration with Maison Margiela or perhaps he’s crediting the creative influence for his Yeezy collections. Either way, it’s hard to drum much interest in the spectacle when there’s a much more gifted narcissist to contend with. But there is something grotesquely poetic about a fame-hungry rapper complimenting the defamer-in-chief and using a clothing label famous for its anonymity to do it.