Kanye West and Ciara after the fashion show
(Kanye West and Ciara, backstage after the fashion show)

Fashion’s elite were in the audience for Kanye West’s first women’s clothing collection at Paris Fashion Week. The show was supposed to start at 9:30pm Paris time (3:30pm NY time). It was a little late, but worth the wait. All the biggest designers, even Azzedine Alaia (!?!), attended, and all the top models walked the runway. The reaction runs the gamut from flame to raves, but the total accomplishment is huge.

The Dish:
-Kanye’s women’s wear line is called “Dw By Kanye West”…after Donda West, his mother who passed away in 2007.
-Check out all the photos after the jump!! I think he’s got amazing pieces. Clean color palette, lots of layering and texture, very tough city girl, like Balenciaga, Wang, and Givenchy.
–FashionBomb tweeted that WakaFlocka is part of the runway soundtrack, lol! (see her pics in the gallery)
-Spotted at the show: Ciara, Anna Wintour, Jared Leto, Terry Richardson, Lindsay Lohan, The Olsen twins, Olivier Theyskens, Silvia Fendi, Alexander Wang, Carine Roitfeld, Jeremy Scott…Allegedly only 100 invites sent out?!?
-Beyonce and Jay-Z are rumored to be making a front row appearance for the show. (Update: so…they were a no show)
-Kanye West arrived in Paris and went straight to work, cutting fabric and doing last minute work with his lead designer Louise Goldin. (via British Vogue)

Kanye West zipper dress
(this Kanye West Dw dress is sick…the sexiest mummy ever, via ChisangaMubanga)

Kanye West’s Dw Spring/Summer 2012 at Paris Fashion Week…
Photos, Details…And Video
After the jump

UPDATE: You can see full photos of all the clothes at NOWFashion.

The Reactions:
“Next season Kanye should get a tailor so clothes might fit. Models swimming in some looks. Kills the hot look, no?”
via Cathy Horyn. (Ouch. Horyn is the OG queen of fashion criticism from the NYTimes. I love her blunt voice. But to be fair, she’s still saying the clothes were hot. Probably a newbie misstep, I’m sure everything was last minute. Oh wait…maybe this is what Horyn meant. One to grow on.)

“Amazing @kanyewest collection ! First show in Paris!”
via Anna DelloRusso, fashionista and rich person. Also a Kanye’s pal.

“The colours at #DwKanyeWest were sobre : black, white, apricot. A palette typical of Céline & Chloé…All in all, a contemporary line-up with considerable charm. And those #DwKanyeWest shoes designed With #GiuseppeZanotti are just to DIE for!”
via RichardBridgeman

“The Kanye West show, in my humble opinion, is proof that everyone can love fashion but not everyone can be a fashion designer.”
via Jessica Michault, style editor at International Herald Tribune. (oof!)
“I think that every one of the designers sitting in the front row at Kanye West must have had a deja vue moment at some point during the show”
via Jessica Michault. (oof x 2)

“Appaz 70 of kanye’s friends already backstage drinking. Nice to know they’re taking it seriously”
via Telefashion. (Um, what the hell are they supposed to do?….help out with hair and makeup? Unclench, homes.)

The Details:
–Kanye enlisted respected British designers Louise Goldin and Katie Eary for his line: Eary said, “[Kanye]’s such a dedicated designer. It’s not what everybody would think—he’s more dedicated than I am. The time and the travel that he puts in is unbelievable. I feel jealous at his commitment.”
-shoes were specially made by Giuseppe Zanotti (an italian shoe line that tends towards the flashy, pointy, rhinestone and shiny side)
-Kanye’s new line is being handled by fashion publicity powerhouse Karla Otto, the same pr flack who handles Jil Sander, Marni, Pucci, etc.
-The show is being presented at a Paris middle school, called Lycee Henri IV. See MTVStyle for photos of the entrance
-Kanye’s alleged muse is Christine Centenera, an editor at Harper’s Bazaar Australia. She’s a fashion scene socialite, and has fantastic style…I’m a fan too. (See gallery)

Kanye takes a bow at fashion show
(Kanye West takes a bow after his first ever fashion show, via ChisangaMubanga)

Here’s video of the Kanye West finale from Grazia_Live:

Kanye West backstage at his fashion show
(Kanye West with model Iza Goulart, backstage at his first fashion show)

Screen shot 2011-10-01 at 4.16.45 PM
(that’s a powerful front row)

Related:
Kanye West Arrives In Paris For Fashion Week Collection Debut
Kanye West at London Fashion Week: What Did He Whisper to Sienna Miller?
Kanye West To Debut Womenswear Collection In October
Kanye West To Debut His Women’s Line at New York Fashion Week…What Can We Expect?