According to Page Six, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were reportedly booed after arriving 40 minutes late to the Lanvin Spring/Summer 2015 runway show in Paris.
"The runway photographers were all just booing them as they walked in,” a witness told Page Six. “They were waiting for them for the show [to start], which was 40 minutes late. Kanye immediately walked over and was gesturing for them to cut it out.”
A key thing to note is these "sources" are anonymous, which immediately compromises the reliability of these accounts, especially when the outlet reporting the events is trades in gossip and hearsay.
Now, we can't make any assumptions on whether the couple was booed, or even why. But what we will say is this: Fashion week is meant to be about the collections, the models, and the (sometimes) extravagant shows put together by designers to communicate a context and vision to an audience and entire industry. But given the celebrity culture and non-stop news cycle we live in now, and the never-ending number of celebs who sit front row (labels are even willing to shell out at least $100,000 to beef up their guest lists), shows have become as much about the big names attending a runway show as it is about, well, the runway show. Depending on who you ask, the former may even trump the latter.
Should Kim and Kanye have been booed (if they were)? Probably not. But catering to the needs of the A-list names sitting front row is a symptom and result of the way fashion weeks operate now. With 24/7 access via social media and photos of every single collection going up instantly, a brand really does have to do something attention-grabbing to stand out amongst its peers to an audience that goes beyond the immediate core of the fashion industry that is dedicated to judging a brand's collection and direction. Making sure the "right" people have just as much exposure as the garments is an important method to getting press and consideration. The unfortunate consequences of attending and producing the three-ring circus that fashion weeks have invariably become will certainly piss some people off, but gawking at the hoopla surrounding what's happening on the runway is what people want to do.
Also, you know what they say about Parisians.
UPDATE:
Footage of the incident has surfaced online. As initial reports claimed, Kanye and Kim were in fact booed at Lanvin's Spring/Summer 2015 show. You can hear Kanye address those who were booing him and his wife, telling them "Alber asked to see us, don't boo us. Don't boo us. We're not late."
[via Page Six]
