Fashion
Has Kanye Met His Match In Fern Mallis?
No matter what good intentions Kanye West may have, it seems like the rapper can't help but getting into it from time to time. Yeezus may have officially met his match, because rumor has it Kanye's feud with Fern Mallis, legendary fashion critic and credited NYFW founder, is ongoing. In other words, get ready for the fashion showdown of the decade.
According to Page Six, Mallis wasn't at Kanye's Yeezy Season 2 presentation, not because she was too busy attending other shows, but because she wasn't invited at all. She told the newspaper, "I was hoping to go to his show actually to see it, I was told they didn't want me there."
The snub could be rooted in a barbed line the legendary fashion critic delivered during the musician's debut presentation, telling Page Six, "I'm kind of over Kanye. I mean, I'm not a fan of his music, and the attitude and agenda is not my style." Since then it seemed as though the two had put their fight to bed, with Kanye inviting Mallis to have dinner with him at The Spotted Pig via Twitter. Later Mallis inviting him to her prestigious 92Y interview series, saying "I actually want to invite him to the 92Y."
Bustle has reached out to both Kanye and Mallis' reps for comment and will update if they respond.
This is neither Mallis nor Kanye's first go-around with high profile feuding. The NYFW founder is the queen of low key snark, unapologetically sharing her feelings on a number of famous designers and celebs, while the god of rap is very outspoken about those he finds fault with. Here's just a handful of their most famous fights.
1. Janice Dickinson
In 2007, at an Ed Hardy fashion show during LA Fashion Week, Dickinson allegedly decided she didn't want to sit in her assigned seat because it wasn't close enough to the media, and instead swiped seats belonging to Mallis and Davis Factor, the co-creator of Smashbox Studio. Dickinson has since been reportedly banned from all shows at LA Fashion Week, according to TMZ.
2. Jill Stuart
In 2009, when the New York Daily News asked Mallis about the shows, she enthused that "Tracy Reese was my favorite show of the day," but when she was pressed as to her feelings on the Jill Stuart collection, she repeated with a smirk, "Tracy Reese was my favorite show of the day." A serious burn from the master of low-key spite.
3. Marc Jacobs
In an interview with the New York Times in 2012, Mallis expressed sadness at not being invited to the designer's shows. The reporter asked Mallis about her outfit, and when she got to her fingerless Marc Jacobs gloves she added, "I love them even though I can't seem to get invited to his shows."
4. Taylor Swift
This is surely the most well-known of all Kanye's feuds, though it's since been totally put to bed. But if you've been living in a remote location in the woods for the past six years, at the MTV VMAs in 2009, Kanye interrupted Swift when she won the award for Best Female Video to cast his vote in favor of Beyoncé. The rapper has since apologized and clearly all is forgiven since Swift presented him with the Video Vanguard award at this year's VMAs.
5. George Bush
Another day, another iconic Kanye feud. In 2005, during NBC's "A Concert for Hurricane Relief" in the midst of Katrina, Kanye being Kanye decided that he was going to go off-script and do a bit of ad lib. As Kanye and Mike Meyers stepped in front of the camera, Kanye interrupted the comedian to deliver what is surely one of the most memorable live rants of all time, concluding with the famous line, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
6. Nike
Nike and Kanye started off on friendly terms with the rap superstar designing a handful of insanely successful shoes that to this day are some of the most covetable, highest priced shoes amongst Nike's roster. However, when Nike came back a third time to renew their partnership with Kanye, he allegedly requested royalties, something the company only gives to professional athletes. Kanye was reportedly outraged and immediately ditched the sportswear empire for Adidas. Considering the buzz surrounding his new collections, I think it's safe to say Kanye definitely came out on top of this one.
7. Hedi Slimane
In 2013 during Paris Fashion Week Heidi Slimane reportedly told Kanye he could attend his show... as long as he didn't attend any other shows during Fashion Week. According to Fashionista, Kanye later revealed during an interview with BBC Radio 1 that he was inspired to write the tongue-in-cheek song "I Am a God" based on the incident.