By: Katrina Gross ~Staff Writer~

Last week in New York City, the much anticipated, biannual New York Fashion Week (NYFW) took place. The idea behind NYFW is to showcase upcoming fashion trends for the spring season as the world’s most popular and up-andcoming designers imagine them to be. The eight-day event consists of precisely planned shows in order to ensure everything runs smoothly and every designer can be seen.

NYFW this year included shows by many already-established designers such as Marc Jacobs and Diane Von Furstenburg, as well as many new designers such as Kate Ermilio and Misha Nonoo. Fashion lovers who attend or watch the live stream of NYFW can usually expect a regulated series of events for their viewing experience. However, this year was unique in one sense, with the inclusion of a last-minute collection designed by Kanye West.

While many notable people attend NYFW and work in the shows, the inclusion of rapperturned- designer Kanye West’s brand Yeezy as a main line for what is only its second collection is rubbing many people, both in the fashion and celebrity worlds, the wrong way. West is well known for his antics and sense of entitlement, and it seems the fashion world’s decision to allow Kanye to have a show last spring for his Yeezy’s fall line has led Kanye to believe he now has an undeniable right to a show at every NYFW, much like designers who have been in the industry for decades.

This year, Yeezy, which is most often seen sported by Kanye’s social-media famous wife Kim Kardashian-West and her family, could be described as Star Wars chic at best. The fashion world has always kept its distance from Hollywood, apart from celebrities attending the shows and sometimes co-designing lines for stores like Macy’s and Target. However, as celebrity involvement in the high-fashion world becomes more common, this question arises: Will a line be drawn separating longstanding designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander Wang and others from the new celebritydesigners like West?

Celebrity designers appear to be merely exploring a brief interest, but they gain rapid support for this exploration because of their marketability. This is due to their already established fame and not necessarily their vision or capabilities when it comes to producing art through fabric. Should these celebrities be included in the established fashion weeks, or should they be encouraged to show their lines independently?

If Kanye’s lack of discipline, planning and respect for the tradition of fashion week is any indication of how celebrities would treat the honor of being featured as a fashion week designer, keeping the fashion designer and celebritydesigner worlds separate appears to be the only option for maintaining the sanctity of fashion week’s original purpose — to showcase the talent of known and unknown designers alike and give them the respect they have earned through their hard work and talent.