Everything that Kanye West does is big. He talks big, he acts big, he dresses big and he marries big (in case you have been living under a rock – Kanye is married to Kim Kardashian). His third Yeezy collection was no exception.
When planning to debut his collection, along with his long-awaited album The Life of Pablo, a dingy little warehouse in midtown Manhattan would not suffice as a location.
Nope, Kanye needed big. Kanye needed Madison Square Garden.
And what Kanye wants, Kanye gets.
On February 11, 2016, West filled MSG with 20,000 people to showcase Yeezy Season 3 and T.L.O.P.
As the crowd stared at the giant tent in the centre of MSG, West kicked things off by playing the first track on the new album, ‘Ultra Light Beam’. Once the song ended, the tent was removed to reveal hundred of models standing underneath.
In true Yeezy style, there was no catwalk present. West prefers to display his designs by having his models stand still in lines so the crowd can marvel at his creations. However, this non-conformity to tradition isn’t surprising coming from somebody who calls himself “a creative genius” whose nickname ‘Yeezus’ or ‘Yeezy’ is a reference to Jesus Christ.
The Yeezy Season 3 show was no disappointment. T.L.O.P was played in full, while the models took turns sitting at the edge of their stage and standing still, looking moody and perfectly Kanye-esque.
A list of rules for the show was seen on Twitter after one of the models allegedly posted a picture of it on Snapchat. Some absolute must-nots included ‘no smile’, ‘no sexy posing’, ‘no eye contact’ and ‘do not break the rules’.
One model the rules didn’t apply to, however, was Naomi Campbell, who made an appearance and modelled in the show. She wore a skin-tight black cat-suit under a black fur coat and walked around one of the stages, stopping at the corners to pose for the crowd.
And Naomi isn’t Kanye’s only famous friend to get involved, with artists such as Kid Cudi, Rihanna, The Weeknd and even Frank Ocean featuring on T.L.O.P. The album was a huge hit with the crowd, who cheered and applauded loudly at the end of every song.
Once the last track on T.L.O.P finished playing, West proceeded to thank Adidas and his team for helping him bring his vision to life.
Fans of West were also treated to a sneak preview of a new video game he created called ‘Only One’. The game, Kanye told the crowd, was about his mother Donda’s ascent into heaven. However, unsatisfied with the crowd’s less than enthusiastic response to the preview, West decided to play the preview again in order to get a better response from the crowd, which he did.
As I said earlier – what Kanye wants, Kanye gets.
Also pleasing the crowd of 20,000 at MSG, West announced that his Yeezy clothing and footwear would be made more available to purchase (in Ireland you have to enter a competition to even be in with a chance of buying a pair of Yeezies!) and that the prices would be lowered.
Praise Yeezus!