The Kanye West world domination continues as rapper announces fashion line

The last few weeks were ruled by rapper Kanye West. It started in June with the birth of his first baby with Kim Kardashian – notoriously called “North West” – followed by his already critically acclaimed sixth studio album Yeezus. The latter even looks like his musical partner in crime Jay Z has to give up his throne for West, as Jay’s recently released album is a far cry from the success of Yeezus. But Kanye’s weeks of world domination aren’t over yet, as he is about to launch a denim collection with the French label A.P.C. Being the controversial and narcissistic person that Kanye West is – posing as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone and comparing himself with Steve Jobs – his ego finally seems to live up to his actual status.

It has never been a secret that the flamboyant rapper has a heart for fashion. Besides being a style icon and a regular front row guest at fashion shows, he has a list of renowned collaborations with big brands like Louis Vuitton, Nike and Carhartt. West’s history as a designer shows that his creativity isn’t limited to music alone. The hit maker even had his own clothing line for a while – which, however, wasn’t a big success. With the likes of Vogue’s finest Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfeld, there’s not much standing in the way for a successful career as a fashion designer on the side.

Kanye West brought the news of his collaboration with A.P.C. by posting a photo on Instagram and Twitter on Monday morning. The photo showed a red tag in jeans saying “A.P.C. KANYE”. The caption said: “A.P.C. Kanye capsule collection, July 14. #apc #kanyewest.” The collection will be on sale from Sunday and consists of denim, t-shirts and a hoodie

The ready-to-wear brand A.P.C. was founded in 1987 and is known for its good quality denim and minimalistic designs. Only recently the brand gained worldwide popularity, resulting in the opening of stores in big fashion cities all over the world. Magazine GQ interviewed A.P.C.’s founder and creative director Jean Touitou on how the collaboration with Kanye West came about. Touitou on West: “He had nice manners and spoke about losing his mother in a surgery accident, about losing his girlfriend too, and about how difficult doing the right thing in fashion was. After a while, I was curious to know what this gentleman was currently doing in his life. I simply asked him: ‘May I know what your trade is, sir?’ He took his shades down, so that finally I could see his eyes, and answered me: ‘I am a hip hop artist’.” 

Lisa Nederveen

We can’t wait to see the collection. To get an impression of A.P.C.’s style, have a look here.