Say what you will about Kanye West, but you can’t deny that the man has terrific style. Well, usually.
Earlier this month, the rapper/producer/fashion designer received some mild roasting for his bizarre footwear at 2 Chainz’s wedding. Kanye showed up in a seafoam green Louis Vuitton suit designed by Virgil Abloh, and paired it with new Yeezy slides that seemed one or two sizes too small. The sight of Kanye’s foot hanging over the slides left many people laughing and/or scratching their heads; however, ten days after he debuted the tiny sandals, Ye has defended his footwear choice on social media.
The rapper posted two side-by-side images on Tuesday, illustrating the “Japanese way” to properly wear sandals. The first picture explains that the straps should be snug, with the heel extending 1 to 2 cm off the sole. The reason for this? It supposedly prevents the individual from stepping on the hem of his/her formal wear.
So, there you have it: another brief fashion lesson from Mr. West.
Shortly after his small slides went viral, his good friend and former collaborator Abloh criticized all the attention the footwear received. He told Refinery29 that those who were distracted by the footwear might have missed the “bigger picture.”
“That was the most important outfit of recent memory. It gave me hope after all the oversaturation of fashion where every two weeks there a new It shoe,” the designer said. “He and I are fans of fashion and are obviously self-taught. We both got to a place where we were able to make these things and make them in our image. And to me, that image is as important as all of the Black women on the September covers […] I think when people focus on something as small as the sandal, they might lose the bigger picture. Our heads are down and we’re creating, we’ve been trailblazing since before.”
