A Guide to the Architects and Designers Kanye's Working With Right Now

Image via Complex Original

Location: New York

Italian architect Claudio Silvestrin is a master of minimalism, a style Kanye has often admired in the works of modernist architecture masters of the 1930s and 40s, like Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rhod. Silvestrin is also the man behind Kanye's minimalist palace in New York, a 200-square-meter loft in Manhattan built in 2007. His stripped-down aesthetic for the space includes many white, monolithic forms and not much else.

Locations: Paris, Los Angeles

Anticipating the arrival of baby North, Kanye employed the services of Oana Stanescu, a director at the architecture firm Family, in baby-proofing his Paris home. She has also contributed to Yeezy's house in L.A. and often acts as Kanye's design mentor, introducing him to other architects, designers, and artists. Stanescu is currently working on +POOL, a Kickstarter-backed project to put a floating, cross-shaped pool in New York's East River.

Locations: Paris, Los Angeles

Kanye can thank Stanescu for introducing him to Joseph Dirand, an architect and designer who combines early Viennese modernist influences with contemporary flairs. In his Vogue profile, Kanye claims that Dirand "taught me about Corbusier and Jeanneret and Perriand, but he gets everything—bases everything off of Versailles." Along with Stanescu, Dirand is working on Kanye's Paris home. He was also called in to help Yeezy with his place in Los Angeles. Outside of his work for Kanye, Dirand has created store concepts for Alexander Wang, Balmain, and Rick Owens.

Locations: Paris, Los Angeles

Axel Vervoordt hung out with Kanye and Stanescu during one of their outings, a meeting that led the Belgian designer and antiques expert to consult on Kanye's L.A. and Paris apartments. In fact, the Paris apartment's floors were inspired by Vervoordt's grand, moated castle, a showplace for his work.

Location: Los Angeles

Interior designer Waldo Fernandez was tapped to consult on Kanye's L.A. apartment, bringing in his unique approach to midcentury modernism. Fernandez comes from a background of set design, and he carries his own furniture line in L.A. He has lent his talents to everyone from Elizabeth Taylor to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and his most recent project is a Four Seasons hotel for the royal family of Bahrain.

Location: Los Angeles

Sandy Gallin comes to interior design from an unusual place. Formerly a Hollywood talent manager (whose clients included Michael Jackson and Dolly Parton), Gallin has built his reputation on transforming the homes of movie stars with his eye for design. His signature style is a look of uniformity, and he often pairs dark floors with white walls. On most projects, Gallin acts like more of a producer or curator than actual designer, working with architects and subcontractors to do specific jobs, while he oversees the final result. "In some ways, doing a house for another person is very similar to managing a star—they tell me what they want, and I try to figure out how to make their dream a reality," he told the Wall Street Journal. Gallin's next project? Helping Kanye in Los Angeles.

Location: Los Angeles

Interior Clint Nicholas has actually worked alongside Sandy Gallin before. The two were employed to revamp Sue Mengers' estate in Beverly Hills along with a star-studded list of designers and architects. For the Mengers project, Nicholas paired handmade upholstery with high design furniture and contemporary paintings. Now Nicholas' designs will appear with Gallin's once again, this time for Kanye. Nicholas has been asked to consult on the rapper's L.A. home.