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It’s no secret the past seven days have been the week of Kanye West.

From almost snatching mics at the Grammys, to launching the Yeezy Boost and presenting Yeezy Season 1 for Adidas at NYFW, ‘Ye even found time to shut down the stage at the Roc City classic. He’s also given us some classic lines in new interviews, but it’s his in-depth talk with Style.com that’s really got the people going.

Check out some of our favorite excerpts from the interview below as Yeezy discusses dressing Kim, his influences, and snaps back at his critics.

On his influences:

“You guys know my fucking influences. I’ve got four influences and it’s written all over the face, you know the combination. Just as much as Drake is influenced by Kanye West, you know my fucking influences. You see Raf Simons right there, you see Helmut, you see Margiela, you see Vanessa [Beecroft], you see Katharine Hamnett. It’s blatantly right there. I’m not going to try and act like I was influenced by a fucking dog walking down the street that broke its ankle that I had a heartfelt discussion with. I had a heartfelt discussion with all of these fucking Helmut Lang images that I stared at for so many years. I had a heartfelt discussion with my Tumblr.

Also, workwear, utility, the idea of being a dad, no time to look in the mirror because I’m looking at my daughter, I’m looking at my wife. And I’ve got to take her to dance class.”

On how becoming a dad influenced him as a designer:

“With my first collections, they would say, ‘I want to see more of you.’ And I didn’t even know who I was. And it was far less defined who I was, and I didn’t know who I was until I had a daughter. And then I realized that the purpose of life was to protect her and my wife at all costs. And that is who I am.”

On receiving negative reviews:

“I don’t read the reviews, because it’s some kind of backhanded compliment or something focusing on not the main point. It was really difficult to do this. It would be difficult to make a proposition this simple for any designer. So many people told me that it had to have logos or it had to have this, but I fought for exactly what I wanted in my closet. I fought for what was true to me … There are a lot of kids in the streets that have waited for someone to speak for them and what they’re doing and for them to connect with it directly. And that’s what I’m here to do. Just as the last photo showed you, I’ve got an army behind me, so unless the reviewer is recognizing the army, they’re not recognizing the tank coming. I mean, I don’t know if people felt this, but it’s too late. Like the Drake album says, if you’re reading this, it’s already too late. If you’re seeing this, it’s already too late.”

On Kim Kardashian’s red carpet look at the Grammys:

“I’m biased, but I think the best red-carpet look of all time—if not, one of the top five—was my wife’s look at the Grammys. You know what [Jean Paul Gaultier] just did. He said, ‘Fuck the shit. I’m making real shit. I’m doing perfume and couture.’ And by focusing on that, he delivered … I just think for me as a person that dresses the most photographed person in the world, I get bored with ready-to-wear really easily. Here’s this glamorous being, this modern-day Helmut Newton girl, and you just get this “mid” thing. I just feel like we’ve been hit with this barrage of extreme medium.”

On dressing Kim:

“She was always my muse, now she’s become other designers’ muses. Or designers’ muses, because like I said, I don’t want to disrespect designers by calling myself a designer, I just think I have a vision of something that I want to do. But God has a special way to teach people through life. I guess I got a little more credit for my second collection than my first, for whatever that is worth. But soon as we started dating, fashion people were really opposed to the idea of reality stars. And all the relationships, the somewhat friends that I had somewhat built up, completely turned their backs on her and me. They already had their back to her, and now they turned it to me. The so-called traction that I was getting in the high-fashion world was completely thrown out the window and I was finally allowed to go to school, where every day I was in my mom [Kris Jenner]’s house, in my little brother’s old room, Rob’s old room, re-tailoring a Céline skirt, re-tailoring a Saint Laurent jacket, re-tailoring a Zara top, re-tailoring Wolford … And day by day by day, [Kim and I] learned, we got better. We looked at the photographs together and she improved my style, we improved each other.”

On what he learned from receiving negative reviews for his first collection:

“There’s no comment that would have given me the structure. I had to go and meet CEO by CEO by CEO, fabric person by fabric person by fabric person, designer by designer by designer. So anyone that’s out there that gave me a bad review on my first collection and felt that that helped me do better now, fuck you. You didn’t help me. You just talked. And then you talked about the next show.”

On when Yeezy Season 1 will be available for purchase:

“We’re going to do some injections within the next three months. The camouflage pieces will be out within the next three months. I want to point out one thing to all the people who only work in fashion and don’t really take full consideration of this thing called the real world. People say, ‘Hey, Kanye, you’re going against all odds.’ And I say, wait a second, the shoes sold out within the first 10 minutes. 9,000 shoes. So everyone, the odds are with me. The people are with me. Now it’s up to you to choose whether or not I’m chic enough to sit at your dinner table. And I could give a fuck about your dinner table, by the way. I’ve got my own petrified Rick Owens table in my house. Is that chic enough?”

On the controversy surrounding A.P.C. founder, Jean Touitou:

“Racism is a distraction to humanity. Jean Touitou is one of the most humane people I know. Jean Touitou had my family have dinner with him every time we came to Paris. And there are a lot of people who own fashion companies who didn’t.”

So, after a week like this, it’s hard to imagine what Kanye could have planned next. But, it’s clear he’s got his sights set on something even bigger:

“One of my dreams was to be the head creative director of the Gap. I’d like to be the Steve Jobs of the Gap. Perhaps this is a bit of a demo tape. When I say Steve Jobs of the Gap, as I talk to the people at the Gap right now [leans into tape recorder], I’m not talking about a capsule. I’m talking about full Hedi Slimane creative control of the Gap is what I would like to do. And I can say this because it doesn’t conflict with my Adidas contract.”

And what’s up with Nike these days?

“I’m sure they’re doing OK. [laughs]”

SOURCE: Style.com | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Anna Wintour & More Attend Kanye West’s Adidas Presentation (PHOTOS)
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