Fashion Week Watch: Collections by Kanye, Kiley and Kendall

NEW YORK - New York Fashion Week kicked off a day before its official start with Kanye West debuting his latest Yeezy collection far outside the Manhattan fashion fray and Kendall and Kylie Jenner talking about their own collection. In sweltering heat, set to a slow, morose soundtrack, Kanye West debuted the fourth season of his Yeezy collection for Adidas at a park memorializing Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous four freedoms: of speech and worship, from want and fear. Helping to kick off New York Fashion Week, West lured the fashion crowd, along with wife Kim Kardashian and two of her famous sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, to Roosevelt Island just off Manhattan on Wednesday. There, “multicultural” models, per his criticized casting call over the long holiday weekend, stood under a blazing sun as they greeted sweaty guests in beige and black leotards, bodysuits and other clingy, revealing foundation garments. A handful of more than 100 models hired for the marathon afternoon (as opposed to fashion shows that usually take 10 minutes or so) just plain sat down in the grass where they stood barefoot, felled by sizzling temperatures and walking once or twice to a box of bottled water set up at the front just for them. Music by performance artist Vanessa Beecroft heralded more models who actually walked, on a white runway that rimmed the knoll in thigh-high boots, including one poor soul whose stiletto-heeled pair weren’t strong enough to hold her, forcing a sad wobble in her step. Among West’s walkers was a fierce-looking Teyana Taylor, the star of his new “Fade” video. Among his other celeb guests: Pharrell, Spike Jonze and Tyga. It was quite the family fashion day for Kendall and Kylie Jenner, who came straight from brother-in-law West’s Yeezy show to their own party celebrating their fashion label, KENDALL + KYLIE. The fashionista sisters (and reality TV stars) said they were gradually becoming more confident designers with each new collection. “I think that every season we get more and more comfortable,” said Kendall, 20, who as a model is a frequent presence on top-designer runways at Fashion Week. “It’s super-awesome. The line grows with us.” Added Kylie, 19, also expected to be hitting the runway this week: “We’ve learned how to work with each other better. I mean, everything down to certain fabrics and patterns. We definitely learned a lot.” The sisters said they’ve benefited from appearing as models for designers they admire. “I think it’s cool to be able to see both sides,” Kendall said. “I get to see the designers that I work with who are obviously on a much higher level than our brand at the moment. It’s cool to see their process and what they have to go through behind the scenes, because it’s kind of a goal to set and somewhere that I would like to be one day.”