Kanye West $53 Million in Debt ... "Mark Zuckerberg HELP !!

What does one have to do with the other?

One of the things Ye was saying over and over in his rants and interviews was that he wanted that quality and brand prestige/heritage of a Ralph Lauren or Gucci at an H&M/Zara price point.

Umm you can't have both

Let me know where I can cop a Bentley for Hyundai prices
 
You honestly believe that? Dude got $2000 rags selling over at Barney's and **** :lol:

I mean I'm taking a wild guess and assuming that Adidas has more control over pricing than him...

I heard him say the logic was that they didn't want him to go from Nike to Adidas and have the perception of the collaboration/brand be cheaper with the lower prices. He said next few seasons the prices gonna be lower.

I think the **** is overpriced too though.
 
Umm you can't have both

Let me know where I can cop a Bentley for Hyundai prices

I don't know much about car manufacturing, but with clothes, a lot of it is just marked up for profit and perception of brand with no real other reason behind it.

Jordans cost like 16 bucks to make or some **** like that. And once the retailers buy them they are marked up some more.

I would assume it's similar with clothes, but then again I'm just speculating I've never looked into manufacturing clothing.
 
yesterday you said Ye is aiming to have his pieces at H&M levels and now he is aiming to be up there with LV, Gucci, etc.

which is it?

I don't know if you'v e really paid attention to any of his actual interviews rather than twitter rants, but he has explained that he wants to create a clothing line that in as innovative & creative as those brands, but wants to eventually be able to deliver that kind of quality at a price point that an average person could afford.
 
Umm you can't have both

Let me know where I can cop a Bentley for Hyundai prices

I don't know much about car manufacturing, but with clothes, a lot of it is just marked up for profit and perception of brand with no real other reason behind it.

Jordans cost like 16 bucks to make or some **** like that. And once the retailers buy them they are marked up some more.

I would assume it's similar with clothes, but then again I'm just speculating I've never looked into manufacturing clothing.

This is the exact reason, now lets be clear i'm sure the amount it takes to create a detailed designer garment isn't $16 (atleast not any brand who is truly about quality) but on the other end these sweaters that are selling for 2000+ dollars probably cost an 1/8th of that price if not less to manufacture.

However these fashion houses also have the main goal of generating money, so having an outstanding reputation, being considered prestigious, and catering to an audience than can afford to spend that money allows for brands & retailers to set these ridiculous price points.

for example gucci had some of the worst denim i've ever seen from a quality point (i'm talking legitimate old navy satus work) yet they were charging $895 for those, when in reality i would be surprised if it took them $10 to make.
 
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I think we all know where Kanye "is trying to position himself". Point was, we don't know that about Pharrell.

Maybe the G-Star move is a step towards something greater. Where he can actually exhibit success with the creative direction of a brand that allows him to move forward to a "higher" venture.

Similar to what the Public School guys did. Start their line. Win the CFDA Award for Menswear Design in 2014. Win the International Woolmark Prize for menswear in 2015.

Then become creative directors at DKNY. And who's to say where they go from there?

Under most circumstances, that's how it works. Start small, succeed then go big.

I fully understand your point about how most start out... But this is where the issue comes in with Ye.. he isn't most he seems to have the same passion and interest for fashion that any of these young hungry designers have, but to his advantage he has millions of dollars & his celbrity which both hurts and helps him.

In one point his money & celebrity helps him because he can afford to invest in things that smaller scale designers simply can't, his celebrity gains him instant notification & the ability to get his message out to whoever he wants to get it to in the world. On the reverse end of that It hurts him because many people feel that because he's a musician/celebrity he doesn't have a passion for fashion, they wanna make it harder for him because they assume that celebrities don't have the creativeness or aren't considered in the same "class" as the high brass in fashion. He's stated several times in the past that he wants to knock down the perception that having celebrity = simply generating money.

He's in a position that is completely new horizon, there is no blueprint for what's he's trying to accomplish, so of course as we see there has been various mishaps and mistakes.
 
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Same with eye wear. Luxottica is making both your Oakleys and Pradas for super cheap. They can just mark up the Pradas for prestige.
 
Kanye will learn, that to get a return on his investment will require for him to keep selling his high end **** for premium prices.

You want to move product and produce luxury quality items, you can't sell it st HM prices.

**** ain't as simple as people think.

Aside from just covering costs for production, you have to pay employees, cover the costs of opening stores, advertising, etc.


Not saying you have to release $2000 trash, but you ain't getting HM prices without sacrificing quality. He will have to sacrifice at some point. Keep your **** expensive and limited, or mass produce at lower quality/cost.


That's just how the **** goes. No matter what he promised.
 
Kanye will learn, that to get a return on his investment will require for him to keep selling his high end **** for premium prices.

You want to move product and produce luxury quality items, you can't sell it st HM prices.

**** ain't as simple as people think.

Aside from just covering costs for production, you have to pay employees, cover the costs of opening stores, advertising, etc.


Not saying you have to release $2000 trash, but you ain't getting HM prices without sacrificing quality. He will have to sacrifice at some point. Keep your **** expensive and limited, or mass produce at lower quality/cost.


That's just how the **** goes. No matter what he promised.

Hence why prices for Yeezy are still high, of course he has to recoup the cost. However over time i think it will become much easier to lower those prices and make them affordable. It's absolutely a possibility, it just something that most business minded people won't do because of simple greed.

Even if he gets his prices down to say Supreme prices (which has pretty good quality on all their cut & sewn items itself), and keeps the quality he currently has, that would be a huge help, because although some surpreme items are still a little expensive overall it's an affordable brand.

LV right now prings in 10.1 Billion in sales per year, as per forbes they PROFIT 40% of that... they could easily mass produce a large portion of their items, increase availability, lower prices and still come off making some nice money. However there goal is only to make money. so of course they would laugh at the thought of doing something like that.
 
I think we all know where Kanye "is trying to position himself". Point was, we don't know that about Pharrell.

Maybe the G-Star move is a step towards something greater. Where he can actually exhibit success with the creative direction of a brand that allows him to move forward to a "higher" venture.

Similar to what the Public School guys did. Start their line. Win the CFDA Award for Menswear Design in 2014. Win the International Woolmark Prize for menswear in 2015.

Then become creative directors at DKNY. And who's to say where they go from there?

Under most circumstances, that's how it works. Start small, succeed then go big.

I fully understand your point about how most start out... But this is where the issue comes in with Ye.. he isn't most he seems to have the same passion and interest for fashion that any of these young hungry designers have, but to his advantage he has millions of dollars & his celbrity which both hurts and helps him.

In one point his money & celebrity helps him because he can afford to invest in things that smaller scale designers simply can't, his celebrity gains him instant notification & the ability to get his message out to whoever he wants to get it to in the world. On the reverse end of that It hurts him because many people feel that because he's a musician/celebrity he doesn't have a passion for fashion, they wanna make it harder for him because they assume that celebrities don't have the creativeness or aren't considered in the same "class" as the high brass in fashion. He's stated several times in the past that he wants to knock down the perception that having celebrity = simply generating money.

He's in a position that is completely new horizon, there is no blueprint for what's he's trying to accomplish, so of course as we see there has been various mishaps and mistakes.

I don't doubt his passion, interest or hunger.

It's his ability to design that is unproven IMO. Which is why I keep harping on guys who develop their craft and hone their skills over time, then work their way to the top of their respective fields.

Like when Michael Jordan wanted to play baseball. Dude was phenomenal at basketball. And we heard he was really good at baseball. And believed like he did that because he was SO good at basketball, he'd excel at baseball.

And dude couldn't make it out of the minors. But he did start at the minors. He didn't just jump on to a pro team because of who he was.
 
Maybe he shoudve done more mass produced clothing in low hundreds price range that isnt so hobo like. Joggers, flannels, long shirts blah blah.
 
His clothes aren't appealing and this is his 3rd season doing that aesthetic. Don't designers usually introduce new looks with new seasons?
 
I don't doubt his passion, interest or hunger.

It's his ability to design that is unproven IMO. Which is why I keep harping on guys who develop their craft and hone their skills over time, then work their way to the top of their respective fields.

Like when Michael Jordan wanted to play baseball. Dude was phenomenal at basketball. And we heard he was really good at baseball. And believed like he did that because he was SO good at basketball, he'd excel at baseball.

And dude couldn't make it out of the minors. But he did start at the minors. He didn't just jump on to a pro team because of who he was.

He has been working on fashion extensively since about 2008, he has created & failed at two entire collections prior to the Yeezy line, He has created & designed items in the past that have been appreciated by masses of people & He's still developing. He's already proven several times that his designs whether they be his own (Nike yeezy, adidas yeezy line) or through his collabs with other designers that people are interested and want more.

all of these fashion houses have propelled people into positions of power who have just as much or less experience then Ye has had. I'm not saying make him the head of your company, but these same companies hire people straight out of university, who have literally have no experience and no proof that there designs will be impactful. Yet people will believe in that persons potential & allow them a lane to showcase that they can design things that the people will like.

Kanye has worked hand in hand wit Giuseppe Zanotti, Jean Touitou, & other designers to create things that have been celebrated and liked. It' not like these designers needed Kanye to gain some sore of relevance in their field, in many ways working with & designing things with him could be looked at as a negative thing. so for these top designers to sit with him and create with him they have to have some belief in his designs or else they would have never wasted their time.

Either way now that he has the Yeezy line available and can showcase his designs to the world, show that people do like and relate to his designs.
 
dress for success

at this stage of his life kanye needs to get good at asking for money

so he set out to design the perfect fit for someone who makes a living asking for money
 
His clothes aren't appealing and this is his 3rd season doing that aesthetic. Don't designers usually introduce new looks with new seasons?

all of that is suggestive however, people are buying the clothes and from the looks of it retailers are liking the feedback they are receiving from the people. Also each season has seemed to add new items, along with new colors and materials.

as a new designer you have to establish an aesthetic before you just go around making completely new patterns and ideas. If you look at givenchy over the past few seasons the aesthetic is very similar in colors and themes on many pieces.
 
dress for success

at this stage of his life kanye needs to get good at asking for money

so he set out to design the perfect fit for someone who makes a living asking for money

You gotta dress the part, b.
 
Who relates to this though? Serious question, looks like costumes from Mad Max: Fury Road to me

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People who are in to high end fashion....... I'm not here to argue anyone on what THEY should find appealing, i don't even like 70% of the **** i see on runways from most designers, but i recognize that fashion is an art form for a lot of people the same way music, painting, acting etc etc is.

I'm rooting for kanye heavily in clothing because

1) despite me not rocking with a lot of his designs, there are several pieces that i do personally like.
2) He is trying to open the door for more people who don't fit the mold of what a fashion designer should be
3) He's trying to break the cycle of things being influenced by money and money only. I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of people doing things based on trying to make an impact or change, rather then always doing what's best for business
 
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I don't doubt his passion, interest or hunger.

It's his ability to design that is unproven IMO. Which is why I keep harping on guys who develop their craft and hone their skills over time, then work their way to the top of their respective fields.

Like when Michael Jordan wanted to play baseball. Dude was phenomenal at basketball. And we heard he was really good at baseball. And believed like he did that because he was SO good at basketball, he'd excel at baseball.

And dude couldn't make it out of the minors. But he did start at the minors. He didn't just jump on to a pro team because of who he was.

He has been working on fashion extensively since about 2008, he has created & failed at two entire collections prior to the Yeezy line, He has created & designed items in the past that have been appreciated by masses of people & He's still developing. He's already proven several times that his designs whether they be his own (Nike yeezy, adidas yeezy line) or through his collabs with other designers that people are interested and want more.

all of these fashion houses have propelled people into positions of power who have just as much or less experience then Ye has had. I'm not saying make him the head of your company, but these same companies hire people straight out of university, who have literally have no experience and no proof that there designs will be impactful. Yet people will believe in that persons potential & allow them a lane to showcase that they can design things that the people will like.

Kanye has worked hand in hand wit Giuseppe Zanotti, Jean Touitou, & other designers to create things that have been celebrated and liked. It' not like these designers needed Kanye to gain some sore of relevance in their field, in many ways working with & designing things with him could be looked at as a negative thing. so for these top designers to sit with him and create with him they have to have some belief in his designs or else they would have never wasted their time.

Either way now that he has the Yeezy line available and can showcase his designs to the world, show that people do like and relate to his designs.

This just comes down to two vastly different perspectives, because even that last line, I'm not sure he has shown that people "do like and relate to his designs". I'm not saying NO ONE likes them, because he does have a cult like following that will support all of his ventures, but I just don't see the acclaim for them. Which again goes back to why he may be having trouble getting the funding he desires.

Because when designers prove that, they get funding.

I also think it's hard to compare someone who, while they have been "working on fashion extensively since about 2008", were also involved in music, visual presentation etc. vs. someone who went to school JUST for design.

And those people hired straight out of college....are they immediately appointed creative directors or do they continue to hone their craft within the fashion houses before they move up?

Alexander Wang won the Vogue Fashion Fund before he moved on. Public School guys also won that award. These are their designs being appreciated by their peers.

And they continue to win awards before they are named creative directors. People work their way up to these positions from what I can tell.

Goes back to what I was saying before with Jordan. Someone who's dedicated themselves to fashion and design is going to have a leg up on someone who just wants to jump in head first because they like clothes.

And that doesn't just apply to Kanye. Could apply to Jay with Sports Mgmt. etc.

I'm not saying he hasn't put in years. I'm just saying he may still have more work to put in than he believes.
 
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This just comes down to two vastly different perspectives, because even that last line, I'm not sure he has shown that people "do like and relate to his designs". I'm not saying NO ONE likes them, but I just don't see the acclaim for them. Which again goes back to why he may be having trouble getting the funding he desires.

Because when designers prove that, they get funding.

I also think it's hard to compare someone who, while they have been "working on fashion extensively since about 2008", were also involved in music, visual presentation etc. vs. someone who went to school JUST for design.

And those people hired straight out of college....are they immediately appointed creative directors or do they continue to hone their craft within the fashion houses before they move up?

Alexander Wang won the Vogue Fashion Fund before he moved on. Public School guys also won that award. These are their designs being appreciated by their peers.

And they continue to win awards before they are named creative directors. People work their way up to these positions from what I can tell.

Goes back to what I was saying before with Jordan. Someone who's dedicated themselves to fashion and design is going to have a leg up on someone who just wants to jump in head first because they like clothes.

And that doesn't just apply to Kanye. Could apply to Jay with Sports Mgmt. etc.

I'm not saying he hasn't put in years. I'm just saying he may still have more work to put in than he believes.

We are at an agreement as far as him needing more work before being handed the keys to an entire Fashion house. However when he was really ranting about the fashion industry before it was mainly due to people in the fashion world not even wanting to acknowledge him based purely off of his celebrity. Ever since he got the deal with Adidas he doesn't seem to be as frustrated because they gave him a chance.

He was ranting and raving because nobody would even give him a shot to prove that he could create something. Adidas gave him that chance and he's in the midst of building a body of work, now that he has the infrastructure & resources to create. The same way Rocafella gave in the infrastructure and the backing to help him hone his craft and develop into the full artist he is today.

and i'm glad you brought up the jay thing, people were dissing him before he even tried. I don't genuinely think the backlash was ever about him not having a track record in sports, moreso those big agents knowing that Jay represents something different, he's not in line with what the image and priorities of what the traditional sports agent can be. Now we sit here 2-3 years later, is he the biggest sports agent in the world ? NO

But he has had success, he has empowered more people who dont "fit the mold" to make pursuits in that world.. & that's what it's all about to me. As a young black man raised in the hiphop culture it's Important to me to see guys who grew up in my culture expand and change the rules & the tradition of these different industries. Because those industries traditionally try to keep people from my culture completely out and Box us in to the same ********.
 
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