Kanye West Looked to Karl Lagerfeld for Film’s Inspiration

It’s no secret that Kanye West loves fashion and while doing an unofficial apprenticeship with some of the biggest fashion lines in the world, the 33-year-old concluded that he and famed designer Karl Lagerfeld are one in the same.

While watching Lagerfeld, who is the creative director of Chanel, West discovered artistic similarities which inspired his creative process in putting together the short film ‘Runaway,’ and new music for his upcoming album. “It made me feel like how he felt in his space, is how I felt in my space,” West said during the Los Angeles premiere of the film.

For West, delving into the fashion business, with his clothing line Pastelle, seemed like a natural progression. Yet following the public backlash he received after his outburst at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, the Chicago native stopped production on the line. “There are so many ups and downs, hurts and pains in fashion,” he told Elle UK. “It’s extremely frustrating, because I do have opinions on color palettes and fabrics, but do I have the time to pick out every belt buckle? I don’t have 20 years of fashion experience, and my father wasn’t a tailor able to train me. The only way it would work was if I sat next to a designer.”

Despite the fashion setback, West was able to incorporate his couture tastes in the short-film accompaniment for his fifth album, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.’ He focused on dramatic color schemes and demure ballerina silhouettes in his footage. ‘Runaway’ will be televised on MTV, MTV2 and BET on Oct. 24 at 8PM EST.

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