Forget Kanye West, Heeled Timberland Boots Are A Fashion Statement

Welcome to another day of Kanye West doing what he knows best and that’s being a troll.

On Monday, the controversial rapper held a fashion show in Paris for his ninth Yeezy collection. As a part of the show models walked down the runway with t-shirts saying “White Lives Matter”. Causing many to call out the rapper for using a statement, which many see as a form of hate speech. Former Vogue fashion director Gabriella Karefa-Johnson who was in attendance at the show called out West for the dangerous ideology behind the shirts statement.

“I’m fuming …collecting my thoughts, Karefa-Johnson said in her Instagram story. “I guess I get what he tried to do– he thought it was duchampian, she continues. “ It wasn’t “It didn’t land and it was deeply offensive, violent and dangerous.”

In response to her criticism West went on to publicly bully her by posting a picture of her wearing a outfit that included a striped skirt, a blue Balenciaga bag , and knee high Timberland boots. 

The caption on the photo read: “This is not a fashion person. “You speak on Ye Ima speak on you Ask Trevor Noah.”

In another post he continued to taunt her this time focusing on her boots  saying, “ I KNOOOOOW ANNA HAAAATES THESE BOOTS,” referring to Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour.

With West having so much to say about Karefea-Johnson not being “a fashion person” you’d think he would realize that the Timeberland boots he’s been criticizing has always been a fashion statement.

The brand itself was propelled into relevance due to the boots being worn by all of the biggest rappers of the 90s. From the early 1900s to the early 2000s Timberland grew from $80 million to over $500 million, all due to the support from the Black community. Later the brand would grow to be worth over $1 billion. The heeled style of Timberland boots similar to the boots worn by Kareferee-Johnson was popularized after they appeared in JLO’s “Jenny From the Block” and  Beyoncé’s “Bonnie & Clyde” music videos.

Even his ex-wife Kim Kardashian is a fan of the boots and has been seen on many occasions wearing them.  Before he claim to fame she had a successful eBay business, where she resold her clothing. One of her first big buys on eBay was the Manolo Blahnik Timberland boots. In an old interview, she discusses how making that  first sell is what made her get “hooked” on eBay.

“My favorite deal that got me hooked on eBay was a few years back,”  she says.  “I was working for my dad in his office and I saw Jennifer Lopez wearing these Manolo Blahnik Timberland boots! The Manolo store was selling them for $700. I asked my dad to lend me the money to buy 5 pairs just to sell on eBay because I knew I would make more money than I purchased them for because they were so hard to get!”

So maybe West should be silent when it comes to deciding who’s fashionable, especially when he fails to understand that Timberland boots have always been a fashion statement.