PASTELLE: Kanye West’s Own Clothing Line

Article written by: SoJones
Posted on: January 16, 2009

Earlier in 2008, late Summer to be exact, we were graced with a preview of Kanye’s highly anticipated clothing line, Pastelle. Pastelle or Past Tell was scheduled to be unveiled in the Spring of 2006, but there were slight changes made due to Mr. West not feeling comfortable with the progress.

As with his music, the ‘Louis Vuitton Don’ wants to ensure that he has the suitable partnership for success and quality of his collection.

Kanye is well known for his fashion sense and ability to dress outside of the norm. In 2005 he won Stuff magazine’s Style Icon of the Year.

However, he is most notable for his influential style of 2007: the infamous shutter shades. Mr. West is definitely the best at perfecting a certain style and turning it into a trend within the fashion world.

Kanye’s clothing line is expected to meet a very high bar set by both his fans and critics. The high anticipation has only given Mr. West motivation to do more other than spending time at high end fashion shows in Paris and New York.

He recently announced that he has intentions of seeking a fashion internship before he fully launches his clothing line in 2009.

Mr. West is seeking to learn more about design and the art form of fashion itself before he reveals any other pieces from his upcoming collection. Hoping to grab an internship with Louis Vuitton or his designer companion, Raf Simons, West is very eager to learn the in’s and out’s of fashion before he jumps right into it.

As he told the Associated Press, “It’s always art first. And I have such a respect for designers and I wouldn’t want to disrespect them and come out with some random cheap line,” West continued. “I would want people in the design world to look at me and be like, “That’s dope how did you think of that?”

Some of the most recent sightings of Pastelle were during Kanye’s Heartless performance at the AMA’s where he wore a blue and red bomber jacket and during his most recent SNL appearance and performance where he wore an all yellow embroidered crewneck as well as a tiger jacket.

Also known for his blunt self expression and arrogant behavior, hopefully Kanye will apply the same sense of assertiveness to Pastelle. As for now, of what we’ve seen there’s nothing at all that catches the eye. I’m glad he has chosen to go back to the drawing board and get the basics before giving us any old thing. Gotta’ respect him for that. However, if the rest of the line looks like the few pieces we’ve seen so far,  there will be no 808′s, but plenty of heartbreak.

By Ebony Ellis