This weekend, Kanye West debuted his first fashion line, Dw, and his model obsession was more prominent than it was on “Christian Dior Denim Flow” when ‘Ye dropped 21 model names in just under 16 bars.
Kanye’s model mania shouldn’t shock the masses. Selita Ebank’s portrayal of a phoenix in his very appropriately titled Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy “Runaway” short and Irina Shayk’srole as the angel in his “Power” video can attest to Kanye’s concentration on more than the fashion drifting down the runway.
PHOTOS: Kanye West Debuts Fashion Line Dw In Paris!
In accordance with Kanye’s selection of the crème de la model crop for his videos, it was only a matter of time before he paid these lovely young ladies some attention on their respective playing field: the runway.
Mr. West pulled out the checkbook and signed some of the highest paid models, including Chanel Iman, Anja Rubik and Jourdan Dunn to strut their ish, in his ish, down the catwalk.
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While concentration is heavy on the product of Kanye’s line, we can’t help but focus on the show that Yeezy put on and the top notch models he featured.
In celebration of Yeezy’s superb taste for models, we want to introduce you to the first faces seen in Dw.
When these ladies are asked where they got their runway swag, we are almost certain they will answer with a resounding “Yeezy taught me.”
Check out some of the models from Kanye’s show after the jump!
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Chanel Iman
The 20-year-old Philip Lim muse, Chanel Iman, began blazing runways as a teenager in 2006, after winning third-place in Ford Models’ Supermodel of the Year contest and her stride has only gotten hotter since. The American model is signed to IMG and has been seen as the face of CoverGirl, Victoria’s Secret and was featured on the cover of Vogue as one of the world’s next top supermodels in 2007 and in multiple Vogue editorials, dozens of runways and print ads since.
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Jourdan Dunn
British supermodel, 21-year-old Jourdan Dunn, made her runway debut during New York Fashion Week in the fall of 2007, walking in shows for Marc Jacobs and Polo Ralph Lauren. The 5 foot 10 model was considered one of the top 10 newcomers in 2008 and her career has continued to steadily catapult since then. In addition to her features on the covers of multiple publications including covers of Italian, Teen, American, and British Vogue, Dunn takes on the full time task of being a mommy to her young son, Riley, who suffers from Sickle Cell.
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Karlie Kloss
Chicago born Karlie Kloss was signed to Elite Management in 2007, but prior to her modeling career, Kloss was interested in the art form of ballet. Kloss studied at Saint Louis’ prestigious Caston’s Ballet Academy in 2002. Soon after, 13-year-old Kloss was discovered at a charity fashion show. Since her rise to fame, Kloss’ runway walk has been mocked by Tyra Banks, but it did not deter her from walking 31 runways in New York Fashion Week. During Paris Fashion Week in July, Kloss opened the fall Azzedine Alaïa couture show in Paris and closed for Christian Dior.
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Abbey Lee Kershaw
The 24-year-old Australian fashion model, most commonly known as Abbey Lee, was first referred to as a supermodel by V magazine earlier this year. Kershaw made her debut during 2008 New York Fashion Week where she walked an impressive 29 shows. In addition to being in high demand for print ads, Kershaw has been continuously featured in television ads for Gucci’s “Flora” scent since 2008. Before gracing Yeezy’s runway, Abbey was also featured as the face of Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2010/2011 ready-to-wear ad campaign and was featured on the cover of Russian Vogue.
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Anja Rubik
Polish Beauty Anja Rubik began her modeling career in high school and has catapulted to notable fame since. The blonde has been featured on the covers of featured on the covers of various magazines, including French, Korean, Latin American, Japanese, Spanish, Australian, and German Vogue, Korean and French Numéro, Nylon and Elle. The list of designers she has walked for is endless and Mr. West has just been added to her resume. Rubik is married to Serbian model Sasha Knezevic.
