Fashion label A.P.C. recently collaborated with rapper Kanye
West on a basic but well received collection of t-shirts, hoodies and jeans.
Now, the label’s founder Jean Touitou has spoken on what it was like to work
with the famously outspoken star who is rumoured to be notoriously difficult to
work with. Speaking to Elle magazine, Jean commented that he didn’t understand
why people were upset by Kanye’s basic white t-shirt design which retailed for
over $100 because the rapper was interested in creating a high quality basic
item:
“The one thing that surprised and upset me was the criticism
that a t-shirt could cost $120. All those fashion people spend hundreds and
hundreds…. He wanted the best quality of t-shirt, and we took so much time on
the cut and the neck and everything. I know it’s just a t-shirt, but I found it
very unfair that people commented on American television. Nobody’s a critic
when they’re talking about a $500 bottle of Cristal. That was the one thing
that got me.” Jean also jokingly adds that he might go to Kanye’s
upcoming wedding to Kim Kardashian if it’s nearby. He commented: “If it’s in
Paris that would be more handy”.
Jean also comments on whose work he is admiring now, picking
two powerful female designers: “From a design perspective, I think Phoebe Philo
is doing an incredible job. I think sometimes the wrong customer is buying the
bags. It’s tricky. And Miuccia Prada—I have a lot of respect for her all the
way. She has built something incredible.”
Kanye West for
A.P.C.: