I’m up early and might spam you guys with these Yeezy looks that i love 😜
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 4, 2017
From the lowercase “i” and winking emoji face to the suggestion that her *potential* forthcoming sharing spree is predicated on the happenstance that she woke up before her alarm and thus found herself in possession of some unexpected yet serendipitous free time, the tone of the dispatch feels closer to that of a text you might send to a friend from the dressing room at Bloomingdale’s than it does a tweet sent to 57.4 million followers regarding Kanye West’s consistently controversial clothing brand.
In other words, it was pointedly, artfully, dazzlingly nonchalant, and therein lies the marketing genius of what followed: 21 tweets, each featuring a look from the forthcoming Yeezy Season 6 collection photographed on Kim in the midst of a pointedly, artfully, dazzlingly nonchalant
errand.
Coffee break #Yeezy pic.twitter.com/iInO1ZCdhw
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 4, 2017
Some of the depicted excursions are specified, such as “Coffee Break,” featuring Kim sipping a cup of coffee wearing charcoal bike shorts and corresponding sweats, or “Kit Kat run,” wherein Kim is exiting a convenience store carrying a king-size bag of Kit Kats wearing brown leggings, a gray sports bra and a brown overcoat.
Kit Kat run #Yeezy pic.twitter.com/nPuNbQr0Dr
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 4, 2017
The narrative of others are left to the imagination, my favorite being the images of Kim wearing a brown leggings, a brown sports bra and baseball hat, simply captioned: “Errands run.”
Errands run #Yeezy pic.twitter.com/NvSOHeArgi
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 4, 2017
Why this particular errand is not specified while the others are given context is not important, because Kim Kardashian West hasn’t dropped off her own FedEx packages since 2002, ergo, all of them are staged. What is important is the fact that instead of staging a dramatic runway show per past seasons of Yeezy, Kanye is instead presenting a first look at his latest designs through his wife’s social media channels.
FedEx run #Yeezy pic.twitter.com/bX3nymvazQ
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 4, 2017
The seemingly deliberate lack of fanfare stands in stark contrast to the epic media storms of Yeezys past. It’s so dang casual Kim even admits to a small hiccup:
That’s most of the Yeezy Season 6 looks. There’s a few i didn’t post bc i can’t find them in my phone
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 4, 2017
No biggie!
That’s the point. The carefully crafted, hyper-nonchalant aesthetic of this mini ad campaign (that’s what it is, isn’t it?) makes a lot of sense, perhaps more than the expensive, over-the-top displays Yeezy presentations are known for. Yeezy collections have always been “errand clothes” — glamorous and stylized, yes, but errand clothes nonetheless: sweatpants, leggings, tank tops, sweatshirts, sneakers. Placing them firmly in this context makes the aesthetic ring true in a way it never did amidst the overplayed noise of a typical fashion week format.
And the approach is moving the needle (inside my own brain) as a result. While looking at the photos on Kim’s Twitter, I found myself contemplating the appeal of biker shorts and oversized denim jackets, or pairing jogger sweatpants with heels, or how to remedy my tragic neglect of a certain shade of brown (almost peanut-colored?) amid the ROYGBIV of my wardrobe.
The style of Yeezy Season 6 is not a huge departure from those of Seasons 1-5, but the manner in which it slipped in front of our collective eyeballs (with a shrug instead of a bang) most definitely is. Because it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it comes off almost as an inside joke between Kim and her followers: What? I just wanted some Kit Kats.
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