Kanye West on the runway at the adidas Originals x Kanye West YEEZY SEASON 1 fashion show during New York Fashion Week Fall 2015 at Skylight Clarkson Sq on Feb. 12, 2015 in New York City.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for adidas
After unveiling his Adidas Originals collection last week, Kanye West gave a lengthy, wide-ranging interview to Style.com. West talked about the elitism that’s pervasive in the fashion world, his influences and his purpose in life.
Like any good speaker, he’s highly quotable and especially adept at reframing issues in terms of simple dichotomies. Billboard picked 10 of the best quotes from the interview — read them below.
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1. Art From the Heart
“From my art background — from my heart background — I have a perspective on color that I’ve always wanted to get across.”
2. Limitations Create Results
“[Adidas] put some boundaries, but solutions come from boundaries.”
3. Redistributing the Wealth in Fashion
“If someone was to say, ‘Hey, do you want to go to a high-end house now?’ I’d absolutely say no… Because I’m only concerned with making beautiful products available to as many people as possible… Everyone should have the good life… this is very much a Robin Hood approach that I have to making clothes.”
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4. Critics Miss the Tank
“I’ve got an army behind me, so unless the reviewer is recognizing the army, they’re not recognizing the tank coming… Like the Drake album says, if you’re reading this, it’s already too late… anyone that’s out there that gave me a bad review on my first collection and felt that that helped me do better now, f— you. You didn’t help me. You just talked. And then you talked about the next show.”
5. Kanye’s Human
“I’m a human being. I’ve got opinions, I’m not always right, I’m not always on time, I don’t always say things in the proper way, but my intentions are always extremely pure. My purpose is extremely just. “
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6. Nice vs. Chic
“I dislike the concept of chic being the highest compliment for a human being. I’d rather someone be nice than to be chic.”
7. Fashion vs. Voting
“You know, [fashion]’s like voting. Fashion is merely an opinion. And I’ve got a lot of opinions. “
8. Racism
“Racism and the focus on racism is a distraction to humanity… We came into a broken world. And we’re the cleanup crew. And we’re only cleaning up by helping each other.”
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9. Are You Oil or Water?
“I’m the spark. It’s up to people to be oil or water. If you’re water, your life’s already over. If you’re oil, like the age of the kids that were standing there, you’ll probably be sparked and do something really dynamic in life.”
10. F— Your Dinner Table
“So everyone, the odds are with me. The people are with me. Now it’s up to you to choose whether or not I’m chic enough to sit at your dinner table. And I could give a f— about your dinner table, by the way. I’ve got my own petrified Rick Owens table in my house. Is that chic enough?”