There once was a time when it seemed like Kanye West could do no wrong. And indeed, he seems well aware of that fact as well. On Monday night at the Accessories Council's annual ACE Awards, the pop star, who received the honor of "Stylemaker of the Year" used his acceptance speech as an opportunity to sound off on the world's love/hate towards him, his thoughts on leading a creative existence, and his supreme disappointment after his collaborative shoe design with Louis Vuitton was canned.
"I thank Marc Jacobs so much for giving me the opportunity to design a shoe for Louis Vuitton, but the thing that broke my heart most was when they said, 'You're finished. The shoe's finished,'" he said. "When it was ready it was like the dream of putting together the fabric and having the energy that I knew of being a street kid, of being a boy out of Chicago, and enjoying every day and the way I can connect with this. It's like, you can't play the video game anymore."
Although West acknowledged a shift in public opinion towards him—and the behavior that's invited it—he shared his pride for his inner 5-year old's honesty ("I feel like I have to represent that 5-year-old, even, even at the risk of my public ..."). Still, despite receiving such a prestigious honor that night, West's relationship to the fashion world remains a particularly strained one. Perhaps scarred by the LV shoe incident, his speech felt like a plea to be welcomed unconditionally back into that realm—without condition, without questioning or suppression of his creativity, and without being feared as a loose cannon.
Today the NY Post reports that upon arriving at the awards, West, decked out from head to toe in Lanvin, made a "beeline" for designer Alber Elbaz, who was being honored that night as well. The two subsequently had a serious discussion about fashion. While his unhinged ego and self-entitlement may not be very becoming, we certainly can't fault his impeccable taste.
