Kanye West opens up about fashion career

There's no doubt that Kanye West has become a chief player in the world of fashion. Not only has he helped catapult wife Kim Kardashian to style icon status by helping her to 'redo' her wardrobe, but the 37-year-old rapper took New York Fashion Week by storm earlier this year when he unveiled his collection for sportswear giant Adidas, which beat Chanel for the most viewed collection.

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Kanye West is a firm fixture on the Fashion Week front rows

"I feel very positive about the future," he told Paper magazine, speaking about his career in the fashion industry. "People are starting to recognise and just give me a chance to be looked at, respected and a part of the conversation.

"I really appreciate that my collection at New York Fashion Week was accepted positively. The moment I saw Alber Elbaz [Lanvin's designer], he patted me on the back and said, 'Keep going'. It's important to believe and it's equally important to pay your dues."

The FourFiveSeconds singer went on to add that his goal isn't to 'break through the fashion world' but that his goals stemmed from a passion for clothes.

Kanye West unveiled his collection for Adidas during New York Fashion Week

"Fashion is something that's in my heart to do – in my spirit," he revealed. "There's no world that can stop me from what I love. Not the rap world, not the fashion world, not the real world."

While Kanye initially broke into the world of showbusiness as a rapper, he has since become a firm fixture on the front rows at Fashion Week, and shares close relationships with the world's biggest designers from Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld to Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci.

Despite having been catapulted to global superstardom for his musical talents, the rapper, who has a one-year-old daughter with Kim called North, revealed that he has always kept the fashion industry in his sights.

"When I was working at the Gap at 15, I don't think I had any desire to actually make clothes, but I always felt like that's what I wanted to be around," he revealed. "I loved the fabrics, I loved the colours, I loved the proportions."