Kanye West Wore Glimmering Givenchy While Debuting New Song At The Met Gala
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on the 2013 Met Gala red carpet, and Kanye performing at the event.
Photo: Getty/Kim Kardashian's Instagram
Thank you, Kanye West, for offering up new music in as rarefied a setting as the 2013 Met Gala, but thank you more to whomever created Vine for allowing the rest of us to revel in all of the performance's sparkly, masked, screaming glory. Although it's a bit of a bummer that the ultra famous, like A-Trak and Coco Rocha, had to be our conduits to the great and powerful Yeezy, it's true when they say that beggars can't be choosers. (please, Ye, may we have some more?) There are so many things about this performance we need to discuss, it seems possible that by the time we're done unpacking every leathery, iridescent aspect of it, it will be June 18th and whatever mystery Ye has in store for us will be revealed. The kilt! The mask! The gloves! The glitter! I have to admit, I kind of thought Kanye would keep the fashions toned down for the performance, instead letting the mere weight of his presence carry the show, but come on, what was I thinking? He walked the carpet in impeccably tailored Riccardo Tisci, sans tie, with (all due respect) baby-mama Kim Kardashian, also in Tisci, on his arm. But on an evening where everyone was looking for subversion, and any little off-kilter detail added to the eventually-infuriating Möbius strip of is-being-punk-at-the-punk-party-punk-or-is-not-being-punk-at-the-punk-party-punk, Kanye was just his regular old over-the-top self. How punk.
Before I impose a lifetime ban on that word I just used six times in one sentence, let's dive into Ye's performance look, shall we? There were no cameras allowed in the Gala, but who uses a camera anymore? Of course there were a few social media savvy models, actors, and musicians who would want to document the unveiling of Kanye's artistic vision (we know we would have). Our first inkling that there might be something swoon-worthy afoot was when model Coco Rocha posted a Vine with the caption, "Kanye telling Kim not to worry what anyone says that she's awesome." *Aw* In the video, you can clearly tell that Kanye is wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt covered in stones that catch the moody red and blue lighting like diamonds and a pair of slightly elongated motorcycle gloves. We could also tell, at this point, that those were no everyday slacks he was wearing, but it took some more internet scouring to find proof.
We got a clear view of Ye's bottom half when DJ A-Trak, who also performed at the event, posted the above Vine with the caption, "Yeezy Yelling." Sparking speculation that the new record might include screamo influences, "I Am God" is an unexpectedly experimental and aggressive track from what we can gather, and a pretty marked departure from what we've heard from Kanye in the past. His performance style shouldn't look unfamiliar though, as this is Givenchy Kanye at his Givenchy-est and Kanye-est. Ye is clearly wearing one of his signature leather kilts, the aforementioned bejeweled tee, and, yes, a mask. Kanye loves a mask, that much we know, and his (literally) head-to-toe shimmer steez fits the dark glamor of the night impeccably. We can safely say Givenchy Kanye is here to stay, and that we're confident that his looks are only going to get better as the mysteries of "I Am God" and June 18th are revealed.
What do you think of Kanye West's Met Gala performance look?
