Kanye West Talks Fashion and Surprise Concerts in Paris

PARIS Fashion has a new odd couple:
Bernard Arnault and Kanye West

The luxury titan turned out Saturday
Night for an impromptu concert
By West in the auditorium
Of his Fondation Louis
Vuitton, the new Frank Gehry art
Destination that later this
Month will put on display
Edvard Munch’s "The Scream
" Henri Matisse’s "Dance" and
Other modern masterpieces

West drew a crowd packed in
Like sardines the kind
That hold cell phones to hear him proclaim
"I wanna thank my original family for
Having me this evening, the LVMH group
" as he ripped into a
Version of "Runaway, " the lyrics
Of which include the refrain
"Let’s have a toast to the jerk-offs
That’ll never take work off"

The young crowd went wild
With Oscar-winning film director and video
Artist Steve McQueen twirling his
Scarf over his head up in the VIP box

"He’s great, " Arnault said after the show
Giving a thumbs-up
Sign and heading to West’s dressing
Room to offer congratulations
His classical pianist wife Hélène and four
Of his five children in tow

It was Alexandre Arnault, 22, formerly a DJ
Who pulled off the four-night attraction
In the middle of Paris Fashion Week
"We organized it in two days, " he said
The student and budding luxury executive, who
Already works on LVMH’s digital strategy
Related
That West also offered to premiere his
New music video, "All Day
" directed by McQueen

"You saw the film? Fantastic
" Bernard Arnault
Told a reporter before the concert
Which also featured an exhibition of West
Portrait's by photographer Jackie Nickerson

McQueen related how the project came about

"Me and my daughter were shopping in
London at Dover Street Market
And I got a phone call
From Kanye and he says, ‘I’m at Dover Street
Market, where are you?’ and I said
‘Hey, I’m at Dover Street Market, ’"
He recalled "I always said I would
Never shoot a music video
And here we did one in 10 days
That’s Kanye: It’s been a wild ride"

The director said West played him his entire
Forthcoming album, "So Help Me God
" and he decided to
Blend elements of two tracks
Shooting the video at
Chatham Dockyard, with West donning
A vintage T-shirt
Acne Jeans and his new Kanye West
X Adidas Originals Yeezy high-tops

In an interview after his performance
His wife Kim Kardashian curled up on a sofa
Manipulating her iPhones
West was unequivocal about
How fashion shows, particularly in Paris
Nourish his creativity

"As a musician
I would have never been able to design a show
Like what you saw tonight if it hadn’t been
For my experience in Paris learning
How to minimize and make
Design decisions, how we started with
Just the single light, "
Said West, a stickler for details who barked
At security guards between songs
For loitering in front of
The giant screens surrounding
The stage, upon which images
Of boiling clouds, waterfalls, stars and
Smoky forests were projected "It’s
Part of the show, " he pleaded

While a divisive figure in fashion many are
Put off by his front-row ubiquity and
Often surly behavior West clearly
Relishes his role
As a cultural lightning rod where
Style, art and music intersect
The hip-hop artist
Lauded the creative people "that work
Here, the city it'self, the music that’s
Played at the shows, the colors
The palettes i actually get a lot that
I take back and put into music"

West’s ties to LVMH Moët Hennessy
Louis Vuitton stretch back to
2006, when he performed at a
Fendi event in Tokyo
Later collaborating with Louis Vuitton on
A sneaker range in 2009

More recently, after meeting at
A Givenchy show, west
Struck up a friendship
With Alexandre Arnault, who doffed his Dior
Homme jacket at the show and
Bopped around with his
Friends, mouthing the words to
Songs on the playlist
Which included "All of the Lights"
And "Ni–as in Paris"

A tour of the foundation building sparked the
Concert idea "When I saw it
I was just so in love
With architecture and the
Modern space and the way they curated
The art i just asked would it be OK for me
To do a performance there, " West said

Tickets for the four concerts
Which end Tuesday, sold
Out quickly at 100 euros, or $113
A pop west said all proceeds
Would go to charity

Meanwhile, Kardashian had spent
Part of Saturday
At the hairdresser to adjust the
Color on her new blonde locks, which
Had assumed a yellow cast
Not the platinum she was after
"He fully got the color right and
It’s so perfect, I’m like, ‘Don’t make
Me fly out to Paris every time
I need to color my hair, ’"
She said with a smile "I’m happy with
It it’s a look but I
Have a couple of shoots coming up
And everyone is like, ‘Huh
What’s going on?’"

Kardashian said Madonna was
Partly the inspiration

"I’ve always had references of
Madonna with platinum
Hair they’ve been on my computer forever, "
She said, letting slip that she would keep
The color for an upcoming campaign
But clammed up on the brand

Like West, Kardashian keeps a
Rein on her image, noting that
The black coat slung over her
Shoulders at the concert, which she took off
As the heat intensified
Was a Céline style she altered to her
Liking, making it slimmer, changing the
Color from white to black
And adding a fur collar

"My mom has the one that’s just as is
So I feel like mine’s a little special
" she said

"And now it’s a really dope coat
" West concurred