They said/We said: Kanye West continues on his quest to be a fashion icon by releasing a fashion film
In a strange but beautiful move, Kanye West has teamed up with fashion film icon Ruth Hogben (who’s worked with everyone from Gareth Pugh to Louis Vuitton) to produce a music video for “Lost in the World”—a single off his long-ago released album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
The black and white video (a signature of Hogben’s style) opens up with a warning that “strobe effects are used in this video,” a.k.a. things are about to get crazy… and do they ever. A group of dancing models gyrate around while dressed in sheer shirts (how very Kanye)—basically the video looks like a ‘90s Gap commercial on acid.
Surprisingly, Yeezy is generous in sharing the spotlight and barely makes it onscreen, appearing briefly while rapping on a mirrored platform. Most of the face time is given to the models and their synchronized exorcism interpretive dance, making for some unexpectedly breathtaking imagery.
We’re sure Kanye feels his video is the greatest fashion video of all time, and while it may not add to his designer cred, we’re definitely digging this artsy departure from typical rap video tropes.
THEY SAID:
MTV: “Kanye West works in mysterious ways. Just when it seemed like all of his creative energy would be funneled into his upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation, the mad genius jumps back two albums, finally dropping a video for ‘Lost in the World’ […]Simply calling the new visuals from Kanye a ‘music video’ might be a disservice […]” [MTV]
Show Studio: “The film […] offers a new, feminised vision of rap music — a firm departure from the typical machismo the genre so frequently seems to promote.” [Show Studio]
WE SAID:
Caitlan Moneta, fashion market editor: “He’s not making new in-roads as much as leveraging his musical stardom to attract top collaborators. Not everyone is cut out to be a designer.”
 to produce a music video for “Lost in the World”—a single off his long-ago released album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
The black and white video (a signature of Hogben’s style) opens up with a warning that “strobe effects are used in this video,” a.k.a. things are about to get crazy… and do they ever. A group of dancing models gyrate around while dressed in sheer shirts (how very Kanye)—basically the video looks like a ‘90s Gap commercial on acid.
Surprisingly, Yeezy is generous in sharing the spotlight and barely makes it onscreen, appearing briefly while rapping on a mirrored platform. Most of the face time is given to the models and their synchronized exorcism interpretive dance, making for some unexpectedly breathtaking imagery.
We’re sure Kanye feels his video is the greatest fashion video of all time, and while it may not add to his designer cred, we’re definitely digging this artsy departure from typical rap video tropes.
THEY SAID:
MTV: “Kanye West works in mysterious ways. Just when it seemed like all of his creative energy would be funneled into his upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation, the mad genius jumps back two albums, finally dropping a video for ‘Lost in the World’ […]Simply calling the new visuals from Kanye a ‘music video’ might be a disservice […]” [MTV]
Show Studio: “The film […] offers a new, feminised vision of rap music — a firm departure from the typical machismo the genre so frequently seems to promote.” [Show Studio]
WE SAID:
Caitlan Moneta, fashion market editor: “He’s not making new in-roads as much as leveraging his musical stardom to attract top collaborators. Not everyone is cut out to be a designer.”){kind=link}