Some people out there are considering the conspiracy that Sean 'P.diddy Combs' and Kanye West are the same person, causing them to ask…..
They may not be the same person, but they do share alot of similarities; African American, successful musicians, incredibly wealthy, similar facial hair and huge egos. But further to that they are also both unusually eager to please and impress the fashion crowd. From clothing lines to attending fashion shows (and not just your clichéd Victoria's Secret perve fest) the two musicians seem to have made it their mission to not only continue their music careers but also try their hardest to succeed in the world of fashion, even if it means looking like a try-hard. But who is the best at fashion? We put the two to the test.
As Designers
P. Diddy: Puffy has his own clothing line Sean John which he established in 1998 with supermarket mogul Ron Burke. Since its begginning as a mens sportswear brand, the label has expanded to include fragrance, footwear, womens wear and accessories. Diddy himself might not know the back end of a sewing machine but that didn't stop him from joyfully accepting the award for CFDA Men's Designer of the Year in 2004.
Kanye: Kanye has released a few clothing collaborations, most notably a a shoe design with Louis Vuitton, but despite his huge ego the rap star has preferred to take a back seat and learn the behind-the-scenes design process via a series of internships. Kanye has previously interned for GAP, Louis Vuitton and Raf Simmons and more recently moved to Rome to undertake an internship at Fendi.
Verdict: Kanye is on the right track and you can’t help but respect him for taking on an unglamorous internship rather than beginning his own label, but with the Sean John label recording revenues exceeding $100 million annually, Diddy has so much money he doesn’t even know what do with it.
Style
P.Diddy: When Diddy burst onto the scene in 1993 with Bad Boy Records, he donned the stereotypical rapper uniform of baggy pants, baseball jerseys and caps. Since then his style has grown ton include tailored suits, double denim, sunglasses and leather jackets. Diddy’s signature look is the white, three piece suit, which he often wear on the red carpet and at his infamous 'white' parties.
Kanye: Much like Diddy, in the early days Kanye enjoyed a baggy wardrobe of jeans and t-shirts. Folling his breakthrough album The College Dropout, he began to develop his style, wearing tailored suits, double denim, leather jackets, fur coats and sunglasses.
Verdict: There’s no denying Diddy’s got style. He wears a white suit better than anyone. But as far as influencing style go-ers, Kanye is more willing to experiment, creating trends of his own. The self appointed ‘Louis Vuitton Don’ was one of the first to wear double denim and make it look good. He popularised the Ksubi ‘blinds’ sunglasses when worn in his ‘Stronger’ film clip and also influenced the rise in designer sneakers, thus making him the winner of this round.
Fashion Ego
P. Diddy: I think the name of his men’s fragrance ‘I am King’ says it all. Subtle no? But just in case you were planning on questioning Diddy's royal status, in 2008 the musician unveiled an enormous Times Square billboard for the fragrance - the largest print ad in Times Square. Over compensating for something? And then there is the ego saturated video campaign:
Kanye: Unlike Diddy, giant billboard’s aren’t really Weezy’s thing. He’d much rather voice his ego-fuelled fashion opinions, because he loves the sound of his own voice. Some of his most notable quotes include during the last presidential election when he took it upon himself to give the future first lady some fashion advice, stating she should “just go hardcore with it” and “do those Victor & Rolf superhero boots.” Advice I’m sure Michelle took on board. He’s also had a good public whinge to the Accessories Council’s annual ACE awards, on how designers are not giving him a chance to work for them. But of all his fashion rants my favourite comes from his blog, where he retaliated to crisitisms of his choice to wear fur. Here is a golden excerpt:
“WE ARE THE F***ING ROCK STARS BABY. NO COCAINE, JUST LIFE MY N****S!! IT'S FUNNY TO ME WHEN FASHION BLOGGERS DOWN OUR OUFITS AND THEN SUPER JOCK OUTLANDISH SHIT ON THE RUNWAY BUT THEN THEY DRESS MAD PRUDE AND DON'T LIVE FASHION. WE LIVE IT MAN. F*** THAT, WE LIVE IT!!! WE LIVE IT SO HARD PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH US!”
Nothing like a good caps lock rant to ease the ego.
I too hate it when people 'super jock.' It's the worst.
Verdict: I do enjoy a good whinge and rant from Kanye but honestly ‘I am King’ really? Seriously? That has to win hands down.
Name dropping
P.Diddy: Diddy’s new album ‘Last Train to Paris,’ which is set to launch on December 14th, is not only inspired by fashion, but also features a few familiar fashion voices. Familiar indeed. It was announced earlier this week that the voices of industry icons Andre Leon Talley, Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi and Anna Wintour will appear in the album as spoken word pieces introducing each track.
Kanye: Weezy is also up to dedicating songs to his beloved fashion world. In the song ‘Christian Dior Denim Flow,’ he not only pays homage to the couture house but also name drops 21 models in the song. The song mentions some of the industry’s hottest names including Joan Smalls, Lara Stone, Jessica Stam and Abbey Lee Kershaw.
Verdict: Anne Wintour, the most powerful person in fashion, speaking in your album = it’s not even a competition. You win at life.
Jewellery
P’Diddy: Diddy was one of the first to popularise ‘bling’ within the rap community during the nineties. His extravagant jewellery collection includes millions of dollars worth of gold chains, watches, diamond rings and earrings, which he isn’t afraid to wear all at once. He may be good at wearing bling but he's not so good at holding on to it. In 2006 one of his favourite jewellery pieces, a $7.6 million necklace, was stolen in Ibiza. In 2009 he lost a $20,000 ring and recently he had $4million worth of jewellery stolen from his New York office.
Kanye: This year Kanye revealed on the Ellen DeGeneres show that he had diamond teeth. No not diamond grillz, actual diamond teeth. The rapper, who has suffered from dental problems ever since he was in a car accident in 2002, had his bottom teeth removed and replaced with a set of gold crowns with diamonds inserted into them.
Verdict:
Overall verdict
As the above graphs demonstrate P. Diddy is clearing has more fashion cred than Kanye.
Diddy’s award is two epic high fives and a salute from a fur-hat-wearing Jay Z (the very best kind of Jay Z).
No award for Kanye though. No hard feelings dude, we're all friends here right? Laugh it off.
