ALEXANDER WANG - REVIEW

This collection cannot go unnoticed. Taking place in a church, Alexander Wang will have prepared himself for controversy. After Alessandro Michele announced that his Gucci, 17, cruise show is to be held in Westminster Abbey in June, the church spoke up in opposition. The concept of mixing fashion and religion was thought inappropriate and out of place to reverend Peter Owen-Jones who spoke to the Independent about his strong concerns - valid since this ultimately is using a place of worship for predominantly commercial purpose. However, this didn't stop Alexander Wang from mixing the two. And for that matter, almost insulting the church in the process. 

Rebellion seemed the theme of this body of work. Stereotypical teenage revolt portrayed through parents' worst nightmares: harsh pointed studs, chain chokers, pole-dancers on jumpers and marijuana printed jackets created what seemed a punk take on Chanel. Yet Wang may have intended an ulterior motive. 

Although a youthful take of rebellion, we sense a more mature political statement - the historic battle against religion. The main source of global conflict, Wang may have been addressing this with his insulting of traditional views. Promoting marijuana printed clothing in the house of God is certainly a controversial move to make. 

This collection may have focused more on the message than the clothing since the apparel was nothing much out of the ordinary. However the outspokenness could be read clearly, and for that, Alexander Wang, we salute you. 

FENTY X PUMA - REVIEW

Rihanna's debut collection for Puma did not disappoint. No need for months of promotion, no purposefully controversial stunts to gain attention; yet a pristine line of clothing, quietly reminding us of its presence without full scale publicity. Rihanna left the clothes to speak for themselves, which they did, and further caused ripples of respect throughout the industry. Puma's new creative director took the subtle, professional root. Or at least it seemed that way in comparison to Yeezy season 3. It is possible that the success of this collection is down to good timing. The overpowering nature of Kanye's show, paired with his shouting social media persona, rendered the Puma show less publicly anticipated and therefor made more of an impact when released to the world.

However, regardless of good timing, it's obvious that this was a collection Rihanna had thoroughly considered. It's a difficult thing to make sportswear chic, although Rihanna achieved it with occasional tastes of fur and lace. Referencing the Addam's family - 'if the Addam's family went to the gym, this is what they would wear' - allowed for a gothic take on sportswear, with the relentless attitude of Wednesday echoed throughout.

This collection has become the epitome of street style and will be the benchmark for those whose designs embrace a similar mood. Fenty X Puma has brought us a clean and polished collection that we respect. There was substance to the clothing, and by that I mean a certain richness. Even if not to our personal tastes, it is undeniable that these clothes will have a knock-on effect, influencing much of what we see on the high street.

Rihanna has gelled beautifully with Puma; tailoring her creativity to suit the brand whilst bringing with her an attitude that puts Puma back on the map.

YEEZY SEASON 3 - REVIEW

Shakespeare’s, The Tempest, is thought of by many critics as a clear example of style over substance. This was his last solo play and he wanted to exit with spectacle; paying little attention to the storyline that was thus left dry.

Kanye West’s, Yeezy season 3, was certainly a spectacle. An audience of 18,000 piled into Madison Square Garden for the reveal of not just season 3, but for the unveiling of Kanye’s new album.

‘Happy Kanye West Day’ was the greeting attendees were using as they entered the building, soon to be fixated by the self-indulgent world of West that waited inside the arena. Spectacle after spectacle was unleashed on Madison Square Garden; a white, fur cloud of Kardashian / Jenner’s exhibiting the Yeezy X Balmain, surprise collaboration; the announcement of Kanye’s new video game ‘Only One’; and of course, shocking misogynistic lyrics thrown at Taylor Swift.

Such drama however, has distracted from the clothes - which aside from being slightly different in shade, were almost replicas of what we have already seen in season 1 and 2. It's proven that Kanye likes to think himself an innovator –“I’m a creative genius and there’s no other way to word it” – yet his designs are stuck echoing that of season 1. It’s understandable a new creative director wanting to put his stamp on the brand image, however Yeezy collections are becoming increasingly bland. We cannot help but feel Kanye has a lot going on right now, he has fully expressed it in his tweets, leading us to believe that the lack of dazzle from this collection is most likely due to him being busy with a thousand other projects. So why not focus all his efforts on one project and create a true spectacle? Because he’s Kanye West. And this event was ultimately about nothing other than Kanye himself.

Just as Shakespeare wanted to be remembered with his extravagant display of The Tempest, West’s blur of events could be seen as being for the sole purpose of self-promotion.

Some dedication to fashion was communicated through his worshipping Anna Wintour – the vogue editor-in-chief renown for pairing brands with creative directors – after earlier telling her that he would love to be made the creative director of Hermès. A tactic if ever we saw one, yet also a stunt that allowed him further publicity.

With there being no such thing as bad publicity, this blog post in itself is giving Kanye the attention he craves. The dig at Taylor, the argument with Wiz Khalifa, the 3x album name change, all working in his favour and further selling himself to the world. His attempt at a political message, having models stood atop refugee tents, seems to have been already dismissed. Although I’m not sure it should’ve been since is it really ok to promote oneself through global crises?

Who knows what the next few days will bring as we await Kanye’s ‘best album of all time’. There is no doubt he is a showman, but whether he’s the creative genius he believes, that’s a different story.