They say the best business opportunity comes from the craziest of ideas. But what about a business opportunity that comes nestled in between the rants of a “Wacko Kanye?”
This week, Kanye West appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he dumped heaps of wisdom on the world, ranging from “I have to be the Michael Jackson of apparel” to “Picasso is dead. Steve Jobs is dead. Walt Disney is dead.” Between those instantly classic Kanye quotes, he also raised the tantalizing idea of a collaboration with... Payless ShoeSource.
This, and more, in today's Retail Therapy.
Kanye's kicks
W. Paul Jones, it’s Kanye on line two. Buried in an eight minute rant bequeathed to viewers of daytime television, Kanye West hinted at a business opportunity between the Payless ShoeSource CEO and the fashion designer/tormented artist/Michael Jackson-of-apparel:
“It’s funny because when I’m sitting with Obama and Leo* is talking about the environment and I am talking about clothes, everyone is looking at me and saying, ‘That’s not an important issue.’ I remember going to school in fifth grade and wanting to have a cool outfit. I called the head of Payless and I said, ‘I want to work with you.’ I want to take all this information I learned from sitting at all these fashion shows and knocking at all these doors, and buying all this expensive clothing, and I want to take away bullying.**”
*Most likely environment activist/actor Leonardo DiCaprio, although unconfirmed. If you’re chilling with Obama, DiCaprio seems like an easy get though.
**The jump from Payless to bullying seems like quite a stretch, but our educated guess is that Kanye is referencing the multiple instances that kids have been bullied for wearing old shoes. In Kanye logic: cool kicks available at Payless prices = world peace on the playground.
The full clip can be found below for your enjoyment.
Soylent-flavored apparel
Think of Soylent, the bland, beige meal-replacement drink hailed by tech entrepreneurs that are apparently too busy to eat solid food, let alone sit down for a meal. Now think of Soylent, or at least the aesthetic of Soylent, as apparel. Artist and Soylent “house flavorist” Sean Raspet partnered up with designer Nhu Duong to create prototypes of Soylent staff uniforms, made of functional materials and featuring a futuristic, minimalist design. 032c has an interview with Duong discussing the project, as well as pictures of the apparel.
Trump survival kit
While political pundits have been busy predicting what a possible Trump presidency would look like, Cards Against Humanity is preparing with its “Donald Trump Bug-Out Bags.” The gamemaker marketed the duffle bags on its website and Twitter, according to Time. The bags come packed with a copy of Plato’s “Republic,” a gas mask, an application to become a permanent resident of Mexico, and a Trump-themed expansion pack to its card game. All 10,000 bags have already sold out.
.@RealDonaldTrump, please have mercy on our families as we prepare for your regime. https://t.co/OCmiXZg5Jh
— CardsAgainstHumanity (@CAH) May 18, 2016
Mail-order home
While the glory days of the print catalog are long gone for most retailers, Sears has plenty of physical reminders of its mail-order catalog success scattered throughout the country. According to Popular Mechanics, the retailer sold between 70,000 and 75,000 homes through its catalog between 1908 and 1940, ranging from Craftsmans to Cape Cods. Unfortunately, Sears doesn’t have records for its home sales, but Popular Mechanics provides some ways that homeowners can tell if their humble abode got its start between the pages of a catalog.