Kanye West Launches Jewelry Collection Inspired By 14th Century Art
Kanye West has launched the latest leg of his Yeezy collection—and it’s a doozy. West has unveiled his first jewelry collection, which consists of a line of sculptural gold rings, medallion-style pendant necklaces, a deconstructed bracelet, and a slew of clunky chains. Kanye told Vogue he wanted to create “something that represented timeless love.”
Kanye West’s collection comes via a collaboration with celeb designer Jacob Arabo, aka Jacob the Jeweler, the go-to jeweler for ’90s rappers like LL Cool J, Biggie Smalls, Diddy, Jay-Z, and 50 Cent, and yes, Kanye.
On his 2005 song “Touch the Sky,” West even paid homage to his future jewelry partner: “I went to Jacob an hour after I got my advance / I just wanted to shine,” West rapped.
Now, a dozen years later, a dozen carefully crafted pieces are available as part of Kanye’s collection with the jeweler, “inspired by 14th-century Florentine art such as Donatello’s bas-relief portraits.” Vogue says the pieces evoke a “certain classical romance,” but consumers can be the judge of that.
Eagle-eyed fans may recognize some of the pieces from Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian West’s recent ensembles. In a sneak preview that went over fans’ heads, Kim wore some of Kanye’s pieces to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards last year and then was later spotted on two separate outings wearing her hubby’s chains and medallions, including a Givenchy runway show. The pieces initially appeared in West’s Yeezy Season 4 runway show last year, but no one had a clue they’d soon be available to the public.
Of course, the price of a piece of Yeezy does not come cheap. West’s collection of gold chains, pendants, and rings start at $1,530. The highest-rived ring costs $9610, while the necklaces start at $4,810. The highest priced piece clocks in at $13,360, which means this line is only for the very rich.
Kanye's new jewelry collection is all about timeless love. https://t.co/OuzFC2GgUz pic.twitter.com/RxuK95aegN
— The FADER (@thefader) April 8, 2017
Kanye West has long wanted not be taken seriously as a designer. After the 2015 debut of his clothing line for Adidas, West told Style.com he had many more fashion-related goals. While West admitted that he isn’t a real designer (he even humbly said he didn’t want to “disrespect real designers” by calling himself one), he did tout his own creativity.
“One of my dreams was to be the head creative director of the Gap,” he said. “I’d like to be the Steve Jobs of the Gap.”
Like it or not, Kanye’s fashion empire is thriving. West’s latest “Calabasas-theme” Season 5 clothing collection has been widely praised, and his Yeezy sneakers continue to be brisk sellers, despite their huge price tag.
Of course, longtime followers may recall Kanye’s promise early on to keep his collections affordable. According to Complex, West gave a radio interview back in 2013 in which he said if he had the opportunity to design for Louis Vuitton he wouldn’t, because “the prices are just too extreme.”
“I don’t want to use my message to have kids saving up that much, you know, to be part of what the ideas are,” West said.
“You know, that’s the problem to me with luxury. I don’t agree with everything that H&M and Zara does, but one thing that’s good is they were able to break that idea that creativity and things you want have to cost, like, a million dollars.”
Kanye kept his promise to keep things under a million dollars, but for fans who want to purchase his bangles and baubles will have to have some major bank.
Take a look at the video below for more on Kanye West and his new jewelry collection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AOs9Qmy61I
[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]
