Fashion Week Archives

Longtime Kanye West songwriter Malik Yusef allegedly used a fake charity affiliation and a forged Kanye signature to extract $900,000 from fashion designer Philipp Plein in exchange for a New York Fashion Week performance by West that the rapper/producer apparently never knew about, TMZ, The Blast, and Page Six report. Plein believed they booked West through Yusef to perform at a black-tie dinner and runway show on Monday (February 11). The fashion house reportedly advanced the money to Yusef-affiliated entities and featured West's name prominently on the event invitation before discovering Yusef failed to communicate any of this with Kanye. "We were beyond excited to work with but unfortunately an individual pretended to be part of his management team and acted without Kanye’s knowledge, capitalizing on a former friendship with him," a Philipp Plein representative said in a statement. West was to perform three songs with an orchestra and bring with him six children affiliated with a charity that West co-founded and named after his late mother, according to a contract reviewed by The Blast. The Blast reports Plein agreed to donate $500,000 to the foundation. Unfortunately, no one from the fashion house saw the report last June that West is no longer affiliated with the organization formerly known as Donda's House, now called Art of Culture Incorporated. Rhymefest, another former West songwriter who currently manages Art of Culture, said the organization was not involved in the negotiation. "We don’t want the work we are doing to be sullied by this situation. It is unfortunate," Rhymefest told The Blast. Yusef, with a level of brazenness that you kind of have to respect, told The Blast that he was "not aware" of any problems with the Philipp Plein deal. A source told Page Six that Plein is now "desperately trying to book acts" for Monday's show.

Fashion Week

You Almost Have to Respect This $900,000 Kanye West Fashion Week Scam

Be the Sisqó You Want to See in the World

Fashion Week Is Mad at Kanye

Nicki Minaj Wows at Private Alexander Wang Fashion Week Show, But the Clothes Underwhelm

Fashion Week: Camron Steals the Spotlight, Highland Fetes Soccer Champs and Burnouts

Did Jeremy Scott Rip Off Legendary Skateboard Artist Jimbo Phillips?

Everyone Hates Rihanna’s Fashion Line

The Runway Reviewed: London Fashion Week ’12 Eclipses New York

NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Unveils Punk Fashion Exhibit

The Runway Reviewed: Gerlan Plays Up Pussy Riot, Lady Gaga Launches Fame Fragrance

Closing Ceremony: A$AP Rocky Storms Adidas’ Soho Store On Fashion Week’s Final Night

Die Antwoord Steal the Show at Alexander Wang

Is Mandy Moore Fashion Week’s Surprise Style Star?

The Runway Reviewed: Jeremy Scott Looks to the Middle East, Anna Sui to Laurel Canyon

Yigal Azrouel Shines With A Razor-Sharp Spring ’13 Collection

Behind the Runway: MNDR Chats Up Adrien Brody Backstage At Diesel Black Gold

Mara Hoffman Shakes It Down With Ukuleles For Spring ’13

The Runway Reviewed: Betsey Johnson’s Indomitable Splits, Duckie Brown’s Kentucky Twists, William Okpo’s Daytime Hips

Velcro Fly: Cyndi Lauper and ZZ Top Celebrate With Betsey Johnson and John Varvatos

Behind the Runway: MNDR Interviews Robert Geller, Hangs With EDUN’s Ali Hewson

Feed Me Fashion: MNDR Visits the Runway With the Strokes & Stipe

Runway Tunes: Timo Weiland Gets Vocal About Hip-Hop

Fashionisto DJ Mike Nouveau on Club Clothes and $400 Pants

Watch Hunters Live at SPIN’s Fashion Week Kick-Off Party

Tattoos and Skater Cool: Pamela Love and Jonathan Simkhai Make Their Marks

Fashion’s Night Out: Chairlift, St. Vincent, The Strokes and More

Azealia Banks: Pop’s Fierce New Face Kicks Off Fashion Week

IMPACT

Jewel’s Metaverse of Healing

Travie McCoy on His ‘Poignant’ Meet-and-Greet Moment, Being a Role Model for Fans

Voxtrot’s Ramesh Srivastava on Visibility as a Gay Musician

Bloom Vol 29: Schemas

more from spin

THE ART OF THE JUMP-OFF

‘Liberty Had Turned [Elton] Down After Recording Demos With Him’

Rancid Stays True to Its Radical Roots on Tomorrow Never Comes

Get New Music, News, Reviews, And More Delivered Right To Your Inbox.