Like most people who are obsessed with fashion, Kanye West wears mind-bogglingly crazy outfits that people love to make fun of. But that doesn’t mean he won’t make a damn successful fashion designer.
The Sun reported this weekend that Kanye West applied to the prestigious Central Saint Martins College in London for a master’s degree in fashion design. He has yet to be accepted, but one can assume that a super famous guy who interned at Fendi, collaborated with Louis Vuitton, and wore silky Hammer pants to Paris fashion week this year is qualified for the program, which boasts many successful alumni such as Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and M.I.A.
Kanye catches a lot of flack for his fashion choices, but I’m going to call this out as kind of awesome. He’s doing with fashion what James Franco did with writing—acknowledging that his celebrity status doesn’t automatically qualify him as a master of every art form, and trying to seriously educate himself. For someone who is famous enough to start “House of West” tomorrow, I find his commitment to pay his dues in the industry pretty charming.
Personally, I think he’ll make a much better designer than most celebrities who currently identify as such. He loves women, is prone to offensive rants, and seems to be taking his career very, very seriously. Plus, he has always seemed genuinely tortured as an artist—last weekend he popped up with Mos Def at The Blue Note and freestyled about being misunderstood, and how it’s difficult being “a black man interested in art.”
The Sun could just be reporting a rumor—they’ve been known to—but I hope this one is true and that Kanye gets his acceptance letter soon. I’m looking forward to seeing what PETA-offending designs he’ll surely cook up when the time comes to start his own line.
