Kanye West sees himself as the Will Ferrell in 'Elf' of fashion

'I'm the elf that's Will Ferrell, that's too big for his hands to make the toys.'
 By 
Tricia Gilbride
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Kanye West sees himself as Will Ferrell in Elf, just trying to make everyone happy but too big to fit into the traditional mold.

Yeezy also would like you to know, "I will fucking laser you with alien fucking eyes and explode your fucking head." But, like, in a friendly way.

In an interview with W, West got real about his precarious place in the fashion industry with the help of lots of children's movie metaphors.


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In addition to Elf, West referenced Wreck-It Ralph, The Pursuit of Happyness and Despicable Me to illustrate what being an outsider in the world of fashion is like for him.

"I'm the elf that's Will Ferrell, that's too big for his hands to make the toys," says West. But he wants to make the toys. Why? Not just so he could play with them, but he wants to bring joy to the world. "I am a creator and it's my responsibility."

But instead of toys, Kanye makes sneakers. "I make the Christmas presents; number one requested Christmas present of 2015 Christmas, going into 2016, the fucking Yeezy."

But despite that, West still feels very much like an outsider and says the industry's skepticism of his design skills is like if anyone told Michelangelo he could only paint cherubs.

Having his shoes sell out is good, but it's not anywhere close to enough -- Kanye wants to keep building and defining victory on his own terms.

For me, money is not my definition of success. Inspiring people is a definition of success. Doing things to the maximum….You know what's my definition of success? Being able to be 39 years old, a black male, and articulate myself in this way and back it up. My definition of success is dropping a Charlie Sheen-level tweet and being like, 'I am in debt and fuck you.' Now what?

Now what, indeed.

Topics Celebrities

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Tricia Gilbride

Tricia Gilbride was a Reporter for Mashable Watercooler. Tricia focused on the intersection of celebrity culture and the Internet. Previously, she worked as a fashion writer and a social media manager. She also edits Women-Artists.org, a blog and annual print publication, and looks exactly like her cat.

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