Kanye West reportedly cancelled a press preview of his new fashion collection because he felt the bad reviews of his last offerings were "unfair".
The hip-hop superstar debuted his DW Kanye West line in October (11) as part of Paris Fashion Week in France, but the preview of his 2012 spring/summer range failed to impress notoriously tough fashion critics.
He returned to the French fashion event this week (beg05Mar12) to unveil his new womenswear collection on Tuesday (05Mar12), but the New York Times reports West abruptly cancelled plans to show his designs to the press earlier in the day.
The publication's fashion blog quotes the star as saying, "I don't know about this. I got treated unfairly by the press last time. Why would I want to do this?" and when asked whether he would like to explain his designs to editors, he replied, "No. If they don't understand it, they don't understand it."
West attracted a star-studded crowd at his show, with famous faces in the front row including Kim Kardashian, who was wearing a pair of shoes from the star's collection, Alicia Keys, Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Common, and reviews of his new designs were slightly more favourable than last year's (11).
Christina Binkley of the Wall Street Journal writes, "Overall, given the extremely low expectations, I'd say he pulled it off. But with a lot of help. The rumours that he has been hiring consultants right and left seem likely accurate."
Luke Leitch of Britain's The Daily Telegraph, writes, "'Rap with a capital C' was how we headlined Kanye West's execrably executed first incursion into Paris Pret-a-Porter last September... Tonight West came back for more - and good on him. He may be utterly unqualified to show as a designer in Paris, but he certainly has chutzpah. And the collection? Well, it was no hit - but neither was (it) hit with a capital S."
The New York Times' Eric Wilson adds, "Harder, faster, stronger, maybe just a little bit better. After a debut collection that was a critical flop last fall, Kanye West resumed his fashion career in Paris on Tuesday night, picking up right where he left off, with a spectacle of slinky dresses, leather pants that didn't quite fit, furry peplums, broadtail stretch pants, some souped-up go-karts and Kim Kardashian. Well, at least that was an improvement."