In January 2014, a video surfaced of Kanye West talking through his second capsule collection with

French denim label A.P.C. (It’s since been scrubbed from the Internet.) Standing in a Paris

showroom, West spent nearly fifteen minutes explaining to a room of fashion editors every stitch,

detail, and decision that went into the military-inspired capsule. He talked at length about his

specific design choices—like how he chose certain fabrics while picturing “dudes in Milan being

shot by [street style photographer] Tommy Ton”—but also about how this capsule collection was

symbolic of a new era for him personally, one where he might be seen not as a rapper or a celebrity,

but as a fashion designer. “I think, like, this moment right here is maybe the first time where people

can see, like, ‘Oh that’s his opinion,” he said. But Kanye’s history in the fashion industry is as long

and involved as his career in music, and since he burst onto the scene in 2004 with The College

Dropout, his impact on men’s fashion has been immense. Maybe even unmatched. And yet it’s only

now, on the day that his new collaboration with Adidas will be unveiled at a highly anticipated

fashion show in New York, that he’s finally getting the platform to express his vision in a way he

feels he has long deserved. Here, we present the unabridged guide to Kanye West’s fashion history

—including the good, the bad, the mind-blowing, and the sometimes ugly.

In January 2014, a video surfaced of Kanye West talking through his second capsule collection with French denim label A.P.C. (It’s since been scrubbed from the Internet.) Standing in a Paris showroom, West spent nearly fifteen minutes explaining to a room of fashion editors every stitch, detail, and decision that went into the military-inspired capsule. He talked at length about his specific design choices—like how he chose certain fabrics while picturing “dudes in Milan being shot by [street style photographer] Tommy Ton”—but also about how this capsule collection was symbolic of a new era for him personally, one where he might be seen not as a rapper or a celebrity, but as a fashion designer. “I think, like, this moment right here is maybe the first time where people can see, like, ‘Oh that’s his opinion,” he said. But Kanye’s history in the fashion industry is as long and involved as his career in music, and since he burst onto the scene in 2004 with The College Dropout, his impact on men’s fashion has been immense. Maybe even unmatched. And yet it’s only now, on the day that his new collaboration with Adidas will be unveiled at a highly anticipated fashion show in New York, that he’s finally getting the platform to express his vision in a way he feels he has long deserved. Here, we present the unabridged guide to Kanye West’s fashion history—including the good, the bad, the mind-blowing, and the sometimes ugly.

**2004: West Releases Debut Album, Says His Clothing Hindered His Rap Career **

In 2004, Kanye West released his debut album, The College Dropout, which shattered the mold of gangsta rap in favor of a more introspective, jocular, self-aware style of rap that was equal parts balling and self-deprecating. Sonically, the record shifted the landscape of the hip-hop industry, while Kanye’s choice in clothing—complete with brightly colored rugby shirts, pink polos, and Louis Vuitton backpacks—also complicated the image of rappers wearing baggy jeans and XXXL tees. Though Dame Dash and Jay Z of Roc-A-Fella records were the ones to finally give Ye a record deal, it wasn’t easy convincing hip-hop moguls to gamble on a guy that looked like a Ralph Lauren nerd. “No one would give me a deal,” West said during a performance at Webster Hall. “Maybe it’s because of what I had on… I guess they judged a book by its cover.” In other words, West’s persecution complex was there from the beginning.

**February 2006: Kanye’s Purple Tudo Causes a Stir At the Grammys **

At the Grammys following the release of his second album, Late Registration, West wore a purple tudo and a shirt unbuttoned to his navel. And took home three Grammys anyway.

**January 2007: West Collaborates with A Bathing Ape on a “Dropout Bear” Bapesta **

In 2007, Bape was bar none the most coveted streetwear brand on the planet. The Bapesta sneaker was their crown jewel, and Kanye designed a version that featured his mascot, the “Dropout Bear.” This marked the first time West collaborated with a brand on an original sneaker.

**2007: The Shutter Shades Era **

Kanye West may be a skilled designer with a unique vision, but Adidas would not have brought him on if they didn’t also have faith in his ability to move product. There’s perhaps no better example of his influence than shutter shades—those Venetian blind-looking sunglasses he wore in the music video for “Stronger”—which ended up in every cheap boardwalk store across America. In the song, he also announced a new clothing line, Pastelle, with the lyric, “In my Pastelle or my Bape shit.”