Kanye West has been hard at work on new music in the mountains of Wyoming as of late, though he recently took time away from the tunes to interview his design collaborator Axel Vervoordt for the Hollywood Reporter.
Vervoordt, who helped West and Kim Kardashian design their California estate, has designed homes in New York, Miami, Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, Europe and the Middle East. He also counts Sting and Robert De Niro among his clients and friends.
West described the chance to sit down with Vervoordt "like church for me," speaking with the designer about future goals for his Yeezy brand, penning a philosophy book and more.
"Spiritual is the best word I can use," West said of the conversation. "I don't want to put too many boxes on it because the work speaks louder than words."
Find the wildest quotes from their interview below.
On photographs:
I've got this new concept that I've been diggin' into. I'm writing a philosophy book right now called Break the Simulation. And I've got this philosophy — or let's say it's just a concept because sometimes philosophy sounds too heavy-handed. I've got a concept about photographs, and I'm on the fence about photographs — about human beings being obsessed with photographs — because it takes you out of the now and transports you into the past or transports you into the future. It can be used to document, but a lot of times it overtakes [people]. People dwell too much in the memories. People always wanna hear the history of something, which is important, but I think it there's too much of an importance put on history.
On dreams and aspirations:
These are ideas that could be put into action. Sometimes to say something is a dream is almost to say that it isn't possible, or to say that you're trying but — It's like the word try. Sometimes the word try for me it sounds like fail also. (Laughs.)
On the most beautifully designed place on Earth:
My answer would be where the ocean meets the rocks in Africa or in Hawaii. Big Sur is close to that feeling. But that's designed by God.
On branding:
At Adidas, I have Yeezy, but it's a namesake brand. It's my nickname. We do these sneakers that sell out and we get, "Oh, this is the number one brand on Women's Wear Daily." And I don't wish to be number one anymore, I wish to be water. I wish to be closer to UNICEF or something where I can take the information that I have and help as many people as possible, not to just shove it into a brand.
On Virgil Abloh becoming the creative head of Louis Vuitton:
[Abloh and I] have been fighting to make apparel at a certain price that still has the same credibility and desirability as something at a higher price. … But when they say he was my creative director, that's incorrect. He was a creative collaborator.
On time itself:
I do believe that all time is now. The future is here now, the past is here now. There's certain people that you meet and you say, "Oh, you're from the future." You feel this in their spirit, people who are just staying in a time where the time doesn't celebrate who they are, and there's other people right now who the time does celebrate, and those people end up more famous or notorious. But I'm big on connecting with timeless energy, with people and musicians that I'm around.
Vervoordt, who helped West and Kim Kardashian design their California estate, has designed homes in New York, Miami, Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, Europe and the Middle East. He also counts Sting and Robert De Niro among his clients and friends.
West described the chance to sit down with Vervoordt "like church for me," speaking with the designer about future goals for his Yeezy brand, penning a philosophy book and more.
"Spiritual is the best word I can use," West said of the conversation. "I don't want to put too many boxes on it because the work speaks louder than words."
Find the wildest quotes from their interview below.
On photographs:
I've got this new concept that I've been diggin' into. I'm writing a philosophy book right now called Break the Simulation. And I've got this philosophy — or let's say it's just a concept because sometimes philosophy sounds too heavy-handed. I've got a concept about photographs, and I'm on the fence about photographs — about human beings being obsessed with photographs — because it takes you out of the now and transports you into the past or transports you into the future. It can be used to document, but a lot of times it overtakes [people]. People dwell too much in the memories. People always wanna hear the history of something, which is important, but I think it there's too much of an importance put on history.
On dreams and aspirations:
These are ideas that could be put into action. Sometimes to say something is a dream is almost to say that it isn't possible, or to say that you're trying but — It's like the word try. Sometimes the word try for me it sounds like fail also. (Laughs.)
On the most beautifully designed place on Earth:
My answer would be where the ocean meets the rocks in Africa or in Hawaii. Big Sur is close to that feeling. But that's designed by God.
On branding:
At Adidas, I have Yeezy, but it's a namesake brand. It's my nickname. We do these sneakers that sell out and we get, "Oh, this is the number one brand on Women's Wear Daily." And I don't wish to be number one anymore, I wish to be water. I wish to be closer to UNICEF or something where I can take the information that I have and help as many people as possible, not to just shove it into a brand.
On Virgil Abloh becoming the creative head of Louis Vuitton:
[Abloh and I] have been fighting to make apparel at a certain price that still has the same credibility and desirability as something at a higher price. … But when they say he was my creative director, that's incorrect. He was a creative collaborator.
On time itself:
I do believe that all time is now. The future is here now, the past is here now. There's certain people that you meet and you say, "Oh, you're from the future." You feel this in their spirit, people who are just staying in a time where the time doesn't celebrate who they are, and there's other people right now who the time does celebrate, and those people end up more famous or notorious. But I'm big on connecting with timeless energy, with people and musicians that I'm around.
