Written by Naomi May
The white supremacist slogan was worn by models and conservative pundit Candace Owens at Ye West’s YZYS9 show, which was included on the Paris Fashion Week schedule.
No stranger to controversy, the world of fashion is one that’s familiar with headline-grabbing and sometimes ostentatious displays of exhibitionism, the sort that elicits equal amounts of praise, curiosity and criticism.
Fashion, after all, telegraphs meaning. It has the power to persuade, influence and infiltrate popular culture. Its power is not to be underestimated.
Which is precisely why the decision by Ye – the multi-hyphenate formally known as Kanye West – to design, produce and wear White Lives Matter T-shirts at his label Yeezy’s YZYS9 Paris Fashion Week show yesterday is so abhorrent. That somebody so influential and with such a large platform as Ye’s would stand in solidarity with ignorance is deeply problematic. Conservative pundit Candace Owens was present at the show and was also wearing the controversial T-shirt.
The White Lives Matter slogan’s roots can be dated back to 2015, when neo-Nazi groups coined the phrase as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement. According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, White Lives Matter describes itself as “dedicated to promotion of the white race and taking positive action as a united voice against issues facing our race”, in the words of its own website, which was taken down in 2016.
In 2016, West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, something he has since spoken about openly. He has said that he experiences manic episodes, which typically include paranoia, and that he is not medicated for the condition.
This isn’t Ye’s first time making problematic racist remarks. In 2018, he said 400 years of slavery in the US “sounds like a choice” and earlier this year, he was banned from Instagram for 24 hours after rewriting the lyrics to Kumbaya to include a racist slur in a post to Trevor Noah.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, a freelance fashion editor, was one of 50 guests in attendance at the show and took to Instagram to write: “The T-shirts this man conceived, produced and shared with the world are pure violence. There is no excuse, there is no art here.”
She added: “It’s the idea that Blackness must be snuffed out for it will surely supersede whiteness in power and influence if given the chance. It’s so hugely irresponsible to furnish the most dangerous extremists with this kind of fictional narrative. The added layer of him having kids from his Donda school performing the soundtrack. It really felt like the divide between indoctrination and education has never been finer.”
Naomi Campbell, Michelle Lamy and Matthew M Williams, the creative director of Givenchy, were among those who modelled the collection.
To anybody questioning West’s ability to exhibit agency over his decisions to endorse a supremacist movement, his opening remark to guests of the show was made clear. He stated: “I am Ye, and everyone here knows that I am the leader. You can’t manage me.”
Images: Getty
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