Meet Cassius Clay, a 19-year-old Yale University student who, with a combination of luck and skill, has become the creative consultant and personal stylist for one of the biggest music stars in pop culture today.
In what’s being touted as his “first-ever interview”, Clay recounted to retail company Opening Ceremony the fateful day that West complimented his style while shopping at Barney’s. The two went on to exchange e-mail addresses, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Clay, an art history major at Yale, took the fall semester off to work for West, a controversial figure for his often outlandish statements but a highly regarded celebrity for his fashion sense.
Amazingly, Clay’s parents didn’t disapprove.
“My father is in his 80s and my mother in her 60s so they’re not exactly Kanye’s typical listening demographic,” he explained to Opening Ceremony. “Still, they could appreciate opportunity and were very supportive of a productive pause in my track at Yale.”
And now West can count the young man’s parents as fans.
“My mother made a Twitter account to follow Kanye (not me),” Clay revealed, “and I’ve found both [Wests' albums] ‘Graduation’ and ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ in my father’s car.”
Clay also gave his insight, no doubt already shared with West, on how to obtain the “perfect look.”
“An external reflection of personality that admits both reality and imagination,” he said. “I haven’t decided whether enthusiastic matching or dramatic juxtaposition is more contrived – or if that self-awareness is necessarily a bad thing – but both are to be respected for the thought that goes into them. Comfort is indulgent and ultimately forgettable.”
And Kanye West is one person who is never, ever forgettable.
Apparently neither is Yale – according to the interview, Clay is currently preparing to return to school. No word yet on how this will affect his gig with the megastar.
