On Thursday the 25th of June Kanye West’s brand Yeezy inked a multi-year deal with Gap. The agreement that is claimed to last for 10 years came as a surprise to many. The deal consists of a co-branded line of apparel to be released in 2021.

Yeezy the brand is a fashion collaboration between Kanye West and Adidas formed in 2013. The brand produces shoes in collaboration with the Adidas brand. The brand also has a separate apparel business under the same name that garnered attention for their monotone coloured sweatshirts, biker shorts and sweatpants. As of 2019, the brand generated around 1.3 billion in revenues and is one of the most influential contemporary fashion brands out there.

GAP is an American worldwide clothing retailer founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris Fisher. However, what once stood as a symbol of mass-market American heritage is now a struggling empire victim of the Darwinism effect brought by the internet where e-commerce and social media the threat of extinction. This was seen in the year ending the 1st of February report where the brand displayed a 10% drop in sales. Although this was not something they couldn’t recover from, the nail on the cross came in the form of an unpredictable pandemic that affected the entire fashion sector. But for a brand that is primarily distributed through brick and mortar, this led to a closure of 3300 stores and furlough of 80,000 employees not to mention the 43% drop in first-quarter sales as of June.

Upon further scrutinization, this deal seems to serve both players. The deal is seen to be a saving grace for GAP a company in need of revenue and hype. For the Yeezy brand, it offers a chance of diversification of the Yeezy into a more affordable market, further increasing the customer base of the brand. The New York Times reports that Gap estimates the Yeezy Gap brand will generate $1 billion in annual sales in five years.

The Yeezy Gap apparel will be available in gap stores worldwide and on its website. The collection will consist of apparel for men women and children to be priced at current GAP affordable prices. West hired Nigerian-British designer Mowalola Ogunlesi as creative director.

We look forward to the collaboration of the American contemporary and American heritage brands.

Words by Precious Njoki

Graphics by Sara Carpiniello

The post What You Need To Know About The YeezyxGAP Collaboration. appeared first on Voir Fashion.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Rejina Pyos, the Mary-Kate and Ashleys, the Raf Simons, who continue to fan the flames of the cult of minimalism. Whether it’s a result of our desire for practical simplicity in the form of clean lines and monochromatic palettes that are driving the fervour for minimalism, or a renewed focus on perennial favourites and timeless investment pieces in response to the conversation around sustainability, the minimalist approach to style has become the sartorial zeitgeist of today. In many ways, it was Phoebe Philo’s arrival at Céline back in 2008 that heralded a new pervasive appreciation for practicalism, one that has left her a legacy as one of the most influential designers of recent decades after her departure from the brand in 2018, but it was in the ‘90s that a troupe of designers first triumphantly ushered in a wave of minimalism. Before Philo, before The Row, before Yeezy, there was Martin Margiela, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander.

But it was one designer in particular, Helmut Lang, whose mastery of pared-back experimentalism and foray into subversive power dressing in a post-80s era of established opulence first appealed to the anti-fashion crowd. Celebrated for popularising unconventional minimalism through utilitarian, structured designs and clever manipulations of fabrics, Lang first showed in Paris in 1986, and in the early ‘90s started bringing underground references onto the catwalk, blurring the once clear-cut lines between the streets and the runway.

His pioneering Spring/Summer 1992 collection was populated with fleets of inky black wet-look leathers and latex, translucent tights and loose, sheer-T shirts that grazed models’ bare breasts, playing on sexuality and offering a sharp contrast to the overstated silhouettes and excess of the time. It was in 1998 that Lang crossed the Atlantic to stage his first New York show – a move quickly followed suit by a generous handful of other designers and which permanently placed New York – which traditionally followed Milan, London and Paris – at the front of the fashion week calendar, a shift testament to his immeasurable influence on the industry at the time. For his Autumn/Winter 1999 show, his signature urban uniform that wedded minimalism and streetwear was punctuated with punchy hits of silver and tangerine orange in a masterful balance of colour and understated neutrals.

A vision marked by an anti-trend attitude and a pursuit of simplicity, Lang’s fascination with deconstructionism and urbanism manifested itself in a marriage of minimalistic staples with stripped-down streetwear and industrial-feeling silhouettes – timeless yet fiercely individual and woven with a rawness and authenticity. His juxtaposition of innovative synthetic fabrics – plastic-coated garments, laminated leathers, metal-blending textures – with wearable styling established an aesthetic that was at once forward-thinking and accessible.

Subverting traditional notions of luxury and glamour, Lang succeeded in creating a brand that was truly ahead of its time. One of the first designers to release co-ed collections, his clothes exuded androgyny and were imbued with a sense of rebellion and restraint in equal measures, an experimentalist courage that took the form of a sexy yet subdued allure. He shied away from decadence or ornaments, did without unnecessary embellishments and on several occasions nodded to BDSM in the form of latex, bondage straps and harnesses.

What made Lang’s brand so cool was a certain anonymity that his collections emitted. They were scrubbed clean and unadorned, giving them a longevity that allows his design signatures from two or three decades ago to fit with ease into a modern-day urban wardrobe – the iconic low-cut jean, the military bomber jacket, utility parkas, cargo pants – and explains why traces of his influence can be seen across the fashion landscape today. Balmain’s slashed biker jeans, Yeezy’s purist bodysuits and stockings in myriad flesh tones, The Row’s elevated power dressing, Alexander Wang’s grungy cargo pants, are all reminiscent of Lang’s groundbreaking minimalist approach that made him one of the most influential visionaries of his time.

Words by Ruby McAuliffe

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post Helmut Lang: The Enduring Legacy of Fashion’s First Minimalist appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Designed to honour the release of the 25th instalment of the legendary fictional spy agent, James Bond; No Time to Die sparks the newest concept of the Adidas ultraBOOST. While both products are due for an early April release, to celebrate the new upcoming collections; We have compiled the ultimate list of the previous best celebrity sneaker collabs, the top 10 to be exact.

10). Donald Glover x Adidas

At number ten we have Donald Glover’s collab with Adidas in April 2019. The company came together with director and musician on remastered designs of the Continental 80, the Nizza and the Lacombe. Not the most outlandish design within the top ten, but makes the list based on adaptability and minimalistic nature.

9). Cardi B x Reebok

In early 2019, new rap princess Cardi B coupled up Aztrek sneakers to endorse their new retro-influenced shoes. With Cardi’s music at the time being motivated by the old school style, this collab was perfect; from the vintage blocky design to the dynamic colourway.

8). G Dragon x Airforce 1

Number eight features K-pop idol G-Dragon’s endeavour with a remake of Nike’s classic Air Force 1. Cleverly tagged with his clothing line’s flower emblem, the “Para-noise” shoes represent a collaboration in its truest sense, making this meshing of formulas one of the decade’s most memorable.

7). Alexander Wang x Adidas

The last of three collections between Adidas Originals and designer Alexander Wang during 2017. While another fashion brand succumbs to the gentrification of skate style isn’t the most innovative; but with inspired colourways like woodsy brown, it was the forest meets the concrete jungle.

6). Vivienne Westwood x Asics

The creative combination of designer Vivienne Westwood and sports corporation Asics hooked up to create an exclusive selection of a dozen shoe designs that dropped in the space of a couple of months. The 2019 releases aimed at legacy tennis shoes,

reinforced by dynamic artwork and faint features. While all hit retailers worldwide, you’d be lucky to find a pair of these in your local shops.

5). Serena Williams x Nike

Queen of sport, Serena Williams completed her comeback for Wimbledon in style with the release of her new Off-White Nike trainers back in mid-2018. The NIKEiD style inspired cleats were painted with pink from top to bottom, straightforward, sleek yet inspirational.

4). Anna Wintour x Nike

The iconic Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour came together with her current brand to remaster the classic Air Jordan 1s. The pair was not only the first AJ1 design to include a female adaptation, but also with Wintour’s backing, the shoe displayed its own emblem of “Edited by Vogue” to represent Wintour the right way.

3). Kendrick Lamar x Reebok

The hookup between Hip-Hop superstar Kendrick Lamar and Reebok started in early 2015. Of course, each drop is interlaced with a strong meaning, much like his music, with colourways normally matching themes against gang violence; each trainer implements conflicting blue and red marks. Even though the shoe is clean, the message of the sneakers bumps it up to third on the list.

2). Pharrell x Puma

Back in 2016, NMDs was one of the most fashionable sneakers around, so it was no surprise that when the word was out that a team-up with Pharrell could be in the works, the anticipation around the drop was immense. With a particular, thick lacing structure within the middle, not to mention the jazzy irregular pattern design of the words “species” and “being”. Much like Lamar’s shoes previously, the aim of this release was not just to design a dapper sneaker, but to promote a far-reaching message.

1). Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1

Just off of this Collab alone, Travis Scott is already one of the biggest celebrity’s in fashion as of today. While he has a tough battle on his hands to beat Virgil and Kanye to the number one spot, but much like Abloh and Yeezy, he has the Midas touch right now, whether it’s in music or fashion, which creates even more assurance to his validity within the creative field as a partner in business. Scott and the Jordan brand are a perfect mesh, we would expect more great things to come from these two as a collective as the year progresses.

Words by Charlie Miller

Graphics by Mehak Jotwani

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The post Top 10 Most Iconic Celebrity Shoe Collabs appeared first on Voir Fashion.

‘We miss the old Kanye.’ In celebration of his debut album’s recent sixteenth birthday, it’s only right to look back on the impact Kanye West has had on the fashion world.

Amongst his antics and instrumentals; Kanye’s passion for fashion is a crucial element of himself that has influenced pop culture since the release of his debut album, The College Dropout. While his style is unmatched, he also seems to be constantly at odds with it, whether he’s been setting trends within current styles or becoming a well-respected designer in his own right.

‘We even had the pink rugby and thought we was Kanye’: The self-proclaimed ‘Louis Vuitton Don’ completely shattered the parameters of Hip-Hop style. It was obvious that ‘Ye was a new and peculiar version of rap that was emerging when he entered the mainstream in the early 2000s. Rocking pink rugby polos, Louie V backpacks; while the average rapper was still wearing XXX tees, bootcut jeans and staying iced out from head to toe. Yeezy wasn’t with conformity. While embracing bourgeois-styled behaviour, he broke stereotypes of a rapper’s sense of style.

‘See he invented Kanye ,it wasn’t any Kanyes.’ At first, Roc-A-Fella records weren’t convinced on giving Kanye a deal, and who could blame them? West’s obsession with preppy polo shirts and backpacks was definitely unconventional. Although Dame Dash and Jay Z came around eventually, Kanye admitted it was difficult to convince the two moguls: “No one would give me a deal,” The Chi-Town native explained, “Maybe it’s because of what I had on… I guess they judged a book by its cover.” But if we know anything about Kanye, it’s his unwillingness to relinquish his creative freedom.

Kanye continued to bridge the gap between Hip-Hop and fashion, he blurred the lines among the high-end fashion cosmos while meshing rap within that. Of course, he wasn’t the first rapper that rocked designer brands, but he was one of the few that had a rapport with these fashion brand ambassadors. Being the first non-athlete to be given a shoe deal; added to the relationships with fashion designers such as Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, and Azzedine Alaïa to name a few; was only propelling him to a place further than music could ever take him. However, when it comes to Kanye inspiring fellow rebellious and experimental artists, a melting pot of musicians come to mind. Whether it’s older creatives like Pharrell, T Pain and Kid Cudi or newer ones such as Drake, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar — the influence is evident. It might not be a direct correlation between Kanye and the newer age artists, but I guarantee that their favourite artist’s favourite artist is Mr West himself.

And now in 2020, while Kanye’s style has provided more gusto than the average man, it seems like he’s embracing the dad-esque look more and more; quite fitting for his role these days. ‘Ye has smoothly integrated this new part of his life within his appearance: With a casual, plain pair of black sweatpants (usually tucked into his Yeezy limited socks), along with his matching t-shirt, underneath a puffer; and to top it off (literally) — a Kanye fit these days isn’t complete without an appearance from one of his dad hats.

While you could argue most of what he does causes controversy, who is Kanye without controversy, and controversy without Kanye? Yeezus continues to move the needle and polarize the world by embracing his own formula, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Celebrating the anniversary of Kanye’s debut album means highlighting the innovation and rejuvenation he has continued to bring to each and every industry he dabbles in and ‘We still love Kanye like Kanye loves Kanye.’

Words by Charlie Miller

Graphics by Séverine Denis-Lessard

The post From Kanye to Kim-ye to Yeezy: The Ye-volution appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Whether it be Pharrell Williams collaborating with Chanel for his SS19 urban capsule collection, Kanye West dominating upmarket footwear sales with Yeezy Season 8 or A$AP Rocky starring in Calvin Klein’s, ‘I Speak My Truth’ campaign, the current prominence of hip-hop in luxury fashion is undeniable.

Hip-hop has had a historic captivation with high-end fashion, with Dapper Dan’s counterfeit Louis Vuitton and Gucci tracksuits stylising the genre throughout the 80s and early acts such as Big Daddy Kane and LL Cool J sporting brands such as Le Coq Sportif and Kangol. Despite this, it is only in the last decade that such interest has been reciprocated by the industry’s most prestigious brands. Although, that is not to ignore the several successful fashion collaborations hip-hop has had, with Run-DMC’s $1 million endorsement deal with Adidas being the earliest example of this. What it does show is that there has been a cultural shift in the way hip-hop and its unique style is viewed by society.

Before the turn of the century the East/West Coast rap rivalry, N.W.A’s gangster self- identification and the killings of popular artists, Tupac, Biggie Smalls and Fat Pat, meant that hip-hop had an image of both deviance and danger that no high-class brand of sophistication and elegance would want to be associated.

But when Nielsen Music published that rap had surpassed rock to become the most popular music genre in the U.S, with a 24.5% share in music consumption, the resistance that luxury wear once held against hip-hop soon evaporated. Many artists not only became the face of upmarket brands, such as A$AP Rocky and Dior, but also began to compete with such companies by developing their own fashion lines, such as Pharrell Williams’ Billionaire Boys Club, Tyler the Creator’s Golf Wang, Lil Wayne’s Trukfit and Kanye West’s Yeezy collection. And with the likes of Lil Uzi Vert stating, “ Honestly, I think I do this [fashion] better than music,” in his interview with GQ, this current trend shows no signs of slowing down.

The commercial appeal of hip-hop’s expressive street style can be traced back to the genre’s former roots as the ‘outsider’. Without the pressures of being taken seriously and receiving expert industrial criticism the fashion that evolved out of hip-hop had a certain sense of freedom and eccentricity to the way it was both designed and styled. This is a distinctive feature that has remained to this day, where the notion of ‘menswear’ is becoming ever transparent as contemporary rappers continue to experiment with traditionally feminine accessories, such as purses, nail polish and crop tops.

Given that hip-hop is now at the peak of its existence, in terms of mainstream popularity, it is no surprise that both leading labels and artists themselves are capitalising on this synergy between the two industries. The question then remains, has hip-hop cemented its place in high- brow culture? Or will the over-commercialisation of the genre’s street apparel be to the demise of its popularity?

Words by Charlie Malcolm-Mckay

Graphics by Araceli Alonso

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The post Hip-Hop x Streetwear: From Underground to High-End Fashion appeared first on Voir Fashion.