Photo Credit: YZY
Kanye West Wears "White Lives Matter" Shirt At YZY Fashion Show
On Monday, Kanye West held a surprise YZY fashion show in Paris, wearing a shirt with "White Lives Matter" emblazoned on the back.
Kanye West has made some questionable style choices during a recent fashions how for YZY. On Monday (October 3), the artist now known as Ye wore a shirt at his Paris YZY event with the message "White Lives Matter" on the back. The controversial statement arrives following West's departure from Gap, as well as additional fallout he's experienced with other collaborative fashion brands like Adidas.
“I am Ye, and everyone here knows that I am the leader,” he said at one point during the show. “You can’t manage me.”
West has since faced backlash on social media for wearing the shirt.
\u201cSo many folks are trying to excuse Kanye wearing a white lives matter t-shirt as just a troll move or marketing. Maybe it is. But it\u2019s a dangerously dumb message to send for someone with his massive platform. I been off dude. But y\u2019all go ahead labeling his foolishness as genius.\u201d— Jemele Hill (@Jemele Hill) 1664822476
\u201cEvery three months Kanye SHOWS y\u2019all and TELLS y\u2019all he doesn\u2019t care about the black community and yet and still y\u2019all be right there at Sunday Service buying every GI Joe boot and every piece of raggedy fabric he drops. SAD\u201d— Meech (@Meech) 1664824716
Before the show, he shared a poster with dated images of Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lauryn Hill, Naomi Campbell, Bella Hadid and more, causing attendees to believe that the women were either Ye's muses for his new collection, or would be in attendance.
\u201cKanye West wearing a White Lives Matter hoodie\u203c\ufe0f\ud83d\ude33\u201d— RapTV (@RapTV) 1664817565
\u201cKanye West wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt at his YZYSZN9 fashion show \ud83e\udd14\u201d— Kurrco (@Kurrco) 1664816928
“There’s just people. From the same planet. And sometimes, in high school, it feels like we don’t fit in. And in a situation like this, we have the opportunity to come together to express who we are,” he told Vogue about his intention for the fashion show. “It’s leaning into the shape of how I see this future world … this alternate world. But in high school. It’s focused on curriculum because both my parents are educators.”
Ye has been attending fashion events in London and Paris in the past week, and made his runway debut during Sunday's Balenciaga Fashion show, where he walked on a muddy stage.
