PrintJennifer Lopez became J. Lo, Puff Daddy became P. Diddy, and Lil’ Bow Wow became, well, Bow Wow. Kanye West went in a different direction for his midlife name crisis: Martin Louis the King, Jr. The rapper pays tribute to his love of fashion—to say nothing of his outsized ego—by dedicating his new moniker to his favorite label, Louis Vuitton, for which West designed a pair of red sneakers that appeared in the luxury house’s fall show. Unlike most celebrity collaborators, West oversaw every detail of the design process, from the Dune-inspired aesthetic to the flexible sole material to the signature raised tongue behind the shoe. The budding designer’s sneaker line for Louis Vuitton debuts in stores this June, marking a major triumph for a music icon who has tried for years to prove his fashion cred.
West first caused a stir last year when he declared his intention to intern for Vuitton helmsman Marc Jacobs or for Belgian designer Raf Simons. Though the 31-year-old has yet to assume coffee-carrying duties, he’s exhibited other behaviors typical of the fashion fledgling: West obsessively maintains a blog, where he muses about personal style and upcoming trends. His entourage is a colorful front-row fixture at runway shows, but West also meticulously studies cuts and fabrics backstage. He’s even moving to Paris with nothing but a dream in his pocket, so to speak.
West’s hard work is paying off. Hot on the heels of his Louis Vuitton debut, his Air Yeezy collection for Nike was released last week to long queues of sneaker-loving fans. Rumors are circulating about a jewelry collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, who designed the cover art for West’s album Graduation. West’s much-hyped clothing line, Past Tell, is also slated to launch this year after a three-year postponement that West attributes to his perfectionism. Could this be the year the Artist Formerly Known As Kanye quits his day job?