Kanye West Shares Thoughts on Virgil Abloh in Rare Interview
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Kanye West Shares Thoughts on Virgil Abloh in Rare Interview

Kanye West stepped away from his life making music in the Wyoming mountains and raising a burgeoning family to join interior designer and frequent Ye collaborator Axel Vervoordt, for a candid conversation for Pret-a-Reporter. The two discussed a wide range of topics, covering everything from art to a philosophy book West says he's writing.

West also addressed the recent appointment of Virgil Abloh as Louis Vuitton's men's artistic director and his connection to the designer.

Related | Kanye West: In His Own Words

"Because [Virgil and I] have been fighting to make apparel at a certain price that still has the same credibility and desirability as something at a higher price," West told Vervoordt. "But when they [the press] say he was my creative director, that's incorrect. He was a creative collaborator."

Vervoordt responded by discussing how "every loss" is met with a gain. "Acceptance is a learning process," Vervoordt said. West agreed with the "very spiritual" advice, applying it to his own vision for himself as a designer.

"I have Yeezy, but it's a namesake brand," he said. "It's my nickname. We do these sneakers that sell out and we get, 'Oh, this is the number one brand on Women's Wear Daily.' And I don't wish to be number one anymore, I wish to be water. I wish to be closer to UNICEF or something where I can take the information that I have and help as many people as possible, not to just shove it into a brand."

Related | Virgil Abloh's 'Aggressively' Creative Agenda

West also said his philosophy book, tentatively titled Break the Simulation, will include his thoughts on how an obsession with photography influences humanity.

"I've got a concept about photographs, and I'm on the fence about photographs—about human beings being obsessed with photographs—because it takes you out of the now and transports you into the past or transports you into the future," West explained. "It can be used to document, but a lot of times it overtakes [people]."

We can't wait to read the rest.

Image via Getty

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