YEEZY SEASON 2 | TPG THOUGHTS

Kanye West’s sophomore instalment of his Yeezy line premiered at NYFW, and delivered more of what we have come to expect from the megastar designer, musician, and to-be politician. As a designer who has fought tooth and nail for his seat at fashion’s proverbial high table, he has now opened himself up to the same level of criticism as his desired peers.

Yeezy Season 2 delivers more dystopian looks with Kanye’s staple emphasis on beige & grey outerwear layered with lux fleece and pantyhose. With no clear departure from his previous work, and with the derivative interpretations of Margiela & Raf Simons still looming overhead, the clothing leaves little to be desired.

The lackluster line continues to fuel the conversation of whether Kanye deserves this opportunity, or has truly leveraged his rap god status to bully his way into this. The compounding issue for the Yeezy fashion canon is the unclear go-to-market strategy for the highly sought-after product. With Kanye’s promises of bridging the gap between teenagers on a budget and designer labels, both Adidas and Kanye have yet to properly describe their rollout plan for the mainstream consumer. Failing to deliver on his grand vision of democratized fashion through traditional channels may put his god status in peril.

The saving grace for Kanye and Yeezy Season 2 remains the impressive presentation. Leveraging his platform to broadcast a message of diversity (both in terms of race and body shape) to the rest of the fashion world, Kanye continues to challenge the norms he has inherited from his predecessors.

The question still remains if Kanye will ever truly be a designer’s designer. The celebrity factor and the Kardashian-Jenner media blitz will be a mainstay for any future Yeezy project, but where Kanye wins is within his presence at NYFW in this capacity. He has officially been given a seat at the cool kids table. What he does with it now, in terms of delivering product on a mass level, and creating truly original work, will determine if he keeps it.

TPG RATING 6.5/10

By Amit Kalra #TPGAmit

What did you guys think of Yeezy Season 2? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter with @ThePrepGuy.