Five Things Kanye West Can Learn from Rihanna About Fashion

Fashion brands frequently tap celebrities, specifically musicians, to partner on projects small (a limited-editon shoe design) and large (a full fledged ready-to-wear collection). It helps the brand find a new audience, keep up with pop culture, and even re-invent itself. For example, this New York fashion week, I've seen partnerships between Ciara and Keds, plus ASAP Rocky and Guess. Most famously, Kanye West and Adidas held a fashion show-slash-album release at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. And on Friday, the pop star Rihanna unveiled a ready-to-wear collection with the sneaker brand Puma, called Fenty Puma by Rihanna.

The latter two examples were contrasts in execution and success. Both aimed to make a splash with an over-the-top production to get attention in the press and in the fashion industry. But in Kanye West's case, the reveal of the third season of his "Yeezy" fashion line (a collaboration with Adidas), the ticketed event at Madison Square Garden held too many distractions to be effective to market the clothing. More attention was paid to his album, “The Life of Pablo,” which he simultaneously released, and the presence at MSG of the Kardashian family and their ailing adjunct, Lamar Odom. The clothes were tattered, form-squeezing to the point of unflattering, and hard to categorize. When would you wear them?