• Turn Back Thursday: Kanye Wearing UNDFTD

Kanye West is one of few artists who can attend a Louis Vuitton fashion show wearing a $10,000 designer suit and go perform the very next night wearing a simple t-shirt with jeans. His fashion sense, similar to his music, is extremely versatile and diverse. Kanye’s knowledge of fashion spans all walks of life and sub-cultures, and definitely shows with every music video, magazine spread, and candid shot. Here is a photo of Kanye (with Virgil Abloh, Pharrell, and Jermaine Dupri)  from 2007, just following the release of his Graduation album, wearing the Louis Vuitton Millionaire sunglasses designed by Pharrell and a t-shirt from the Los Angeles-based streetwear clothing brand UNDFTD.

Source: Kanye Universe City

• Kanye West Wins Style War

Kanye West has won the Style War competition beating Jay-Z in the Finals by receiving 77% of the votes. Kanye arguably had the toughest route of everyone in the entire 64-man competition by defeating other notable trend-setters in the Hip-Hope world– Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, and The Fresh Prince. Here is Kanye’s response via his blog:

MAN I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY. THIS IS A REAL HONOR! THIS WHOLE YEAR HAS BEEN SO OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE…. FROM THE YEEZY’S TO THE LOUIE VUITTONS…. FROM HEARTLESS BEING THE NUMBER ONE SONG ON RADIO FOR THE FIRST QUATER OF THIS YEAR TO AMAZING BEING THE THEME SONG FOR THE NBA PLAYOFFS. IT MEANS A LOT TO BE ABLE TO GET RESPECT FROM MY CORE AND PEERS EVEN THOUGH EVERYBODY KNOWS I GET A LITTLE CRAZY WITH THE CLOTHES SOMETIMES. I’M ON VACAY RT NOW WITH A WHITE T ON. IT’S NICE TO READ SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR A CHANGE! PHARRELL PIONEERED WHAT I DO NOW. HE WAS THE ORIGINAL TO BREAK DOWN DOORS BETWEEN “REAL FASHION” AND HIP HOP WORLDS, DOING BEATS FOR NOREAGA AND RUNNING AROUND WITH THE MODEL CHICKS. ROSS GET’S REAL FRESH. TI HAS A GREAT EFFORTLESS SINCE OF STYLE. JAY HAS SET MAD TRENDS AND IS THE SINATRA OF OUR ERA. NOBODY IS AS FRESH AS RALPH LUAREN HIMSELF, ONLY ANDRE 3000 AND BENTLEY GET CLOSE BUT THERE’S STILL WORK TO DO. I THINK OLD MEN DRESS THE FRESHEST, NOT TRENDY AT ALL BUT SOMETIMES STILL COLORFUL AND INTERESTING. THEY’VE FIGURED OUT WHAT LOOKS GOOD ON THEM AND THEY STICK IT. THE UP HILL BATTLE WE HAVE AS HIP HOP ARTIST IS HIP HOP IS ROOTED IN TRENDS. TRUE STYLE AND TRENDS VERY SELDOMELY MEET. THAT’S WHY WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO WEAR STUFF THAT’S LAUGHABLE 2 YEARS LATER. WHEN I CAN SEE CRAZY STUFF I’VE WORN AND PEOPLE LAUGH AT ME, ALL I CAN DO IS LAUGH WITH YOU AND THINK, I HAD FUN THOUGH. THANKS AGAIN, MR. WEST

Source: Complex, Kanye UniverseCity

• Style War Final Four

After beating Pharrell in the 4th round of Style War, Kanye West is now in the Final Four of the competition with The Fresh Prince (Will Smith), Jay-z, and Lil Wayne. Kanye will battle it out with The Fresh Prince, which should make for a great matchup. Kanye has definitely become a Pop icon since he stepped onto the scene, while The Fresh Prince captivated audiences in the early-mid 90s with his choice of style on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

TO VOTE: The Fresh Prince VS Kanye West

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• Round 4 of Style War

Kanye West has advanced to Round 4 of Style War and will face Pharrell Williams for a fashion matchup that was destined from the start of this competition. Of the 4 remaining matchups, this one in particular is the most intriguing because of Kanye and Pharrell’s fashion influence on the rest of today’s Hip-Hop world. Pharrell introduced A Bathing Ape (Bape) to the masses, while Kanye made it cool to wear slim-fit clothing. Moreover,  Kanye has gone on record to say that he looks up to Pharrell when it comes to fashion (see: Composing History- The Making of Late Registration) and even Kanye’s style consultant, Ibn Jasper, elludes to Pharrell as one of the few rappers who is on par with the G.O.O.D. Music record label when it comes to “getting fresh.” By Wednesday, April 22, we’ll see how this all plays out. For more information regarding Style War, visit Stylewar.Complex.com.

Source: Complex

• Style War

Complex magazine and Nah Right have come together to create Style War, an interesting March Madness bracket-like competition that involves 64 of history’s most stylish rappers. The selected rappers have been separated into 4 divisions and qualify for the next round by majority vote from participants. Kanye West, who is in the Originality Division with the likes of Andre 3000 and Pharrell, has already made it onto the 2nd round  to face Busta Rhymes, after defeating Swizz Beatz. Everyone make sure to participate and cast your votes to ensure Kanye comes out on top. For more information regarding participation, rules, and prizes, visit Stylewar.Complex.com.

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