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Kanye plans ‘Yecosystems’ and the internet could care less

Following Donda Academy, Kanye West’s newly established Christian private school, the 45-year-old American rapper is now allegedly planning to build mini-cities called “Yecosystems” across the US.

According to various sources, plans for these cities have been in the works for years. These communities will include residential buildings and retail stores.

Kanye also filed a trademark for charitable fundraising, a public relations arm and a number of food products.

Kanye’s Anti-Semitism

However, news of these Yecosystems are almost insignificant compared to his recent online activities.

Kanye, now also known as Ye, exchanged anti-Semitic conspiracy theories with Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson over the past week.

He also posted anti-Semitic sentiments on his social media accounts and later threatened violence against Jews.


Paris Fashion Week

In the same month, Kanye also made headlines after wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt with American conservative, Candace Owens, during Paris Fashion Week.

The phrase has long served as a violent retort to the Black Lives Matter movement, used by white supremacists and hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.

In an interview with TMZ, The BLM movement condemned the rapper’s actions a day after his stunt.

The statement reads: “While some may see Kanye and Candace’s stunt as a distraction, we recognize that it harms thousands of families fighting for justice for their loved ones killed by state-sanctioned violence.”

However, Ye has yet to respond or explain his reasoning behind wearing the shirt.

Public outrage against Kanye

Kanye’s actions were definitely not met with understanding from people online. With many calling to de-platform the rapper.


The pressure on brands

Consequently, people on social media are pressuring his partner brands to make a stand against his statements.

As a result, Balenciaga cut ties with Kanye. With VOGUE, Creative Artists Agency, and Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, dropping him after.

Despite this, it seems like the rapper feels like he’s untouchable.

In a recent interview, he boasted that the brand Adidas wouldn’t do anything to harm their partnership.

The episode has since been deleted.

As of October 25, Adidas had ended its partnership with Ye with “immediate effect.”

Shares in the clothing brand fell as much as 8% after the announcement but have since pared their losses, according to a report by BBC News.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Adidas has finally joined other brands and agencies and cut ties with Ye (Kanye West). This would not have happened without the almost 175,000 who signed our petition and the celebrities and influencers on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world who helped promote it and amplified the message.”


Kanye’s Mental Health

Im The Best Kanye West GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Many have tried to blame Kanye’s behavior on his Bipolar Disorder.

But his recent stunts and statements serve to uphold extremely dangerous views, which cannot be excused.

What the rapper does not seem to understand is that his online actions have very real-life consequences.

His team, brands and social media platforms should do more to censor Kanye. Above all, he should also get the help he needs.

Target Black? TikToker starts wild rumor about Target Balenciaga store

Social media is blowing up about Target’s “latest venture” with Balenciaga and other luxury brands.

The department store chain is said to open a premium concept store called Target Black. The news was first shared in a TikTok by creator Dan Bravo, who is allegedly working on a commercial for the brand.

The premium shop is already being built in NYC under the Highline and will have exclusive product lines from Balenciaga and Supreme.

Bravo also adds that the store will feature an organic and locally sourced food section, along with a Starbucks Reserve Roastery on-premises.

While the TikTok appears to show an under-construction storefront featuring a black Target sign, the facade is actually Target’s corporate office, located on Manhattan’s west side.

Meaning, there is no Target Black on the way.

Tarjé, yay or nay?

Target was also quick to shut down the rumors of their premium shop. However, neither Balenciaga nor Supreme has commented on the video.

On the other hand, social media users had a lot to say about Target Black. Some already suspected that it was a joke, but it didn’t stop them from debating on whether or not it was a good idea anyway. 

On Twitter, users argued that the store was in a nonideal location and that no one would bother to ‘travel all out there for deals they can get at Rack.’

Another user reminds us about the impracticality of Target Black due to high inflation and the possibility of an economic recession.

While one said they found the idea fun and believed that it could be a good move for Target since it already has a cult following.

TikTok is a different story. Several users were going off about how Target Black is elitist and irrationally annoying to them. 

Of course, Target Black isn’t real. Yet. 👀

Who knows? Maybe in a couple of months, we might actually get a surprise Target X Balenciaga collab. We just have to wait and see!

Do you know who is responsible for the current rise of anti-fashion?

The brand responsible for the current fashion zeitgeist is Enfants Riches Déprimés, which is French for “rich, depressed kids.” Founded in 2012 by Henri Alexander, it has become one of the most influential brands of the decade.

With the hyper-saturation of fast fashion infecting every facet of the industry, seeing a brand make garments so expensive and so exclusive that is unattainable seems like the worst idea ever. Right?

Well as it turns out those unfairly expensive garments with simple prints and brutal distressing are a reaction to over-branding and luxury fashion. Streetwear juxtaposed with couture, taking the techniques of couture and combining them with streetwear’s energetic nihilistic aesthetic.

How is Henri Alexander selling his clothing? With ERD being grudge and punk-inspired DIY look it’s hard to imagine how the garments could cost so much even if the designs are amazing.

Well ERD is not meant to be bought by anyone who cares about the cost. Celebrities, the rich, and the fashionable disgruntled kids of Calabasas are exactly who ERD is targeting.

Alexander grew up a wealthy boarding school student who loved punk and hated school, he reflects on his experiences in an interview with V Magazine where he said,

“The line is essentially a result of my conflict between punk influences and my entitled (wealthy bourgeoisie) upbringing and my views on it.”

The idea of selling garments to people like you makes for truly honest garments that resonate with audiences.

Alexander’s influence has made its way into other brands who have seen the success of his designs and found inspiration in the things that made ERD resonate with the disgruntled youth.

Paris 2018 photo par. @cameronmccool

A post shared by @ enfantsrichesdeprimes on

Vetements is the most popular brand that has taken the ERD vision and completely embodied the idea of taking streetwear and elevating it to the fashionable elite.

Taking oversized, awkwardly cut hoodies of super high-quality fabrics and putting the DHL logo on them with an $800 price tag. The price of the garment is hard to comprehend, but you are buying more than the garment when you spend that much.

“The price point is not only a marker of value but intrinsically part of the piece itself”, Alexander remarked in a 2015 interview with The Guardian.

He expanded on that thought later in the same interview, “No pieces are alike and everything is limited. I have no interest in making affordable pieces for the masses.”

With brands like Vetements doing so well following the price structure and anti-fashion mentality that ERD invented, it’s no surprise that the industry giants like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Balenciaga are doing the same thing.

VETEMENTS FALL WINTER 2019 – COMING SOON

A post shared by VETEMENTS (@vetements_official) on

Vetements was founded by Demna Gvasalia in 2009 and has been a major project for him, since leaving Maison Margiela before starting Vetements.

Demna at the end of 2015 took the creative director role at the prestigious 99-year-old fashion house Balenciaga after the incredible Alexander Wang. With attractive sensual conservative silhouettes complemented by dark colors and abstract yet simple patterns.

Demna would be changing things up by bringing the Vetements anti-fashion to the major house in 2015, the world was not ready for what Demna would bring to Balenciaga.

He created mass hysteria that turned the industry on its head. Selling $1,250 shirts with another shirt sue on the collar, 5-inch crocs that cost $800, and the list goes on and on.

These pieces are posted on Instagram more than modern memes. Demna’s marketing though crazy design and fast trend based clothing is changing Balenciaga’s markets. They’ve seen sales increase 100% in certain areas.

There is no denying that the anti-fashion, elevated streetwear, new couture designs are changing the way we think about dressing. But is the style here to stay or is it a trend that, like so many others, will pass in 4 years?

Demna is here to stay and will continue to change brands around the world, as his mark has been burned into the fashion history books with Vetements. ERD will continue to make the clothing for the rich and depressed kids his brand is named after, and Henri Alexander’s influence on brands will be seen for seasons to come.

It’s a strange time for fashion lovers because of the very polarizing state of uncertainty that sets the fashion lover up for empty pockets and old, out-of-style garments.

As strange as it may seem, this is how the cyclical fashion industry works. Seasonal changes and an abundance of new clothing really shows the free market taste/trend-based purchasing habits that made Vetements popular, in turn creating this new trend!

Balenciaga is making you rethink what you wear with this ‘T-shirt shirt’

Balenciaga has been making waves over the last few years after Demna Gvasalia took over as creative director in 2015, most known for his ironically expensive brand Vetements that recreated the hooded sweatshirt in 2015 and 2016 with its oversized cut and stark designs.

Balenciaga under Demna has been called “new couture” and “elevated streetwear” which is the best way to describe the feeling of paying $980 for a hoodie.

This oversized cut look has infected every facet of fashion including the legendary Triple S Balenciaga sneaker which takes a Raf Simons Ozweego looking sneaker and adds two soles creating a platform-sneaker.

The sneakers have created a storm of recreations that we will be living with for years but in the meantime, Balenciaga has a new trend for everyone at Kering and Vogue to get behind, the t-shirt shirt.

Balenciaga’s $1,290 “T-shirt shirt” is a t-shirt with oversized short sleeves and a traditional length torso with a button down flannel pattern dress shirt straight up sewn to the crew neck of the shirt being worn.

Yes, it’s a shirt on a t-shirt, and it looks unwearable in the photograph Balenciaga is using to sell the shirt.

The real question we all have is “how?” How can a brand sell stuff like this and still stay above water?

The answer is millennials and men, in general, are buying more Balenciaga than ever and its changing how they run their business. According to Balenciaga CEO Cedric Charbit, he said,

“Millennials represent 60 percent of what we sell… Together with men, these are growing faster than any other category.”

With the recent rise of high-end streetwear, Balenciaga has benefited from being at the forefront of wave changes in the climate of fashion style.

Gucci is another example of a brand that is killing it with its crazy 70’s look within the last year is no surprise that Gucci grew almost 50% in the last 2 quarters, but compare that to Balenciaga with the growth of 100% in certain areas.

With developments that big it’s no surprise that Balenciaga is doubling down on the style side with more and crazier designs, as everyone freaks out about the t-shirt shirt another crazy garment has gone unnoticed, the $1,490 “Double Shirt” it cost more than the t-shirt shirt and no one has written an article about it so it must be okay.

These types of style choices are polarizing people into 2 camps, ‘this is crazy’ and ‘this is fashion’. That polarization is what is fueling these wild and wacky cut garments, staying current and stylish whilst at the same time looking good.

We are definitely in a crazy wave right now with what people are wearing and designing, but like any socially affected climate, it is always changing and creating new pockets of attention and hype.

WHAT ARE THOSE?! Zara is really out here selling bootleg Balenciagas

First off, it’s fuck Zara for not paying their factory workers and making them slip notes into the clothing as a cry for help. Whether it’s their fault or not, that shit just ain’t cool!

Second of all, we know it’s hard to compete in the fast-paced world of fashion, especially when people are just copping online these days, but making knock off pieces is really not the wave. That’s the shit that pushes the culture backwards.

We’ve already seen Zara make bootleg Yeezys.

https://twitter.com/WG_Interprise/status/917409436855160833


But what about when they made some knock off Vans too?

Now, trying to capitalize off the trend of cooked kicks, specifically the Balenciaga Triple S sneakers (which go for $850), Zara has now released their own trash version.

BRUH WTF ARE THOSE?!

https://twitter.com/MEAJ94/status/926259499685396480

Going for $89 USD, they’re actually something like a Balenciaga x Raf Simons hybrid, perfect for getting roasted when you go to school. At this point, you might as well pull up to Payless and cop some Shaqs!

Realistically, whether it’s Zara, Balenciaga or Raf Simons, they’re all probably made in the same factory. No one makes real shit anymore!

I guess it really comes down to if you’re a hypebeast or not. Anyone who pays $850 on sneakers and isn’t named Young Dolph is an asshole in my book because you already know half these kids who are copping are using their parents’ money!

Sure, these cooked dad-shoes are the wave today, but are they really gonna be poppin’ by next summer? We don’t know.

One thing we do know is that whatever is the wave by next summer, Zara will be ready like some vultures to make a knock off of it.