Kanye Wore A Leather Skirt to the 12-12-12 Sandy Concert, And People Freaked Out

by Misty White Sidell Dec 13, 2012 5:45 PM EST

How a single leather skirt became the focus of the Sandy 12-12-12 concert, outraged the Internet—and spawned its own Twitter account.

sidell-13-things-kanye-skirt-box — Kanye West performs at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. as part of the Watch The Throne tour November 3rd, 2011. (Kyle Gustafson, Washington Post/Getty Images)

Kanye West is known to dress like a lady. Take, for example, the time he wore a Céline paisley silk blouse onstage at Coachella. So it really came as no surprise that hip-hop’s singular style auteur wore a skirt to perform at last night’s 12-12-12 concert. Taking a cue from Marc, West wore a Givenchy black leather kilt and a pair of matching leather pants to perform at the nationally broadcasted event. Twitter soon erupted with massive response to his breezy bottoms, making West’s look the most controversial of the evening. It even spawned a new Twitter account, @KanyesSkirt, which tweets comments like, “Day 2 in Kanye’s nether regions. The boxer briefs and I have formed an alliance to attempt escape.”

But this isn’t the first time that West has donned the Givenchy-designed style—it was a wardrobe staple of his “Watch the Throne” tour with Jay-Z, and was even featured in their “N***** in Paris” music video. But given the high profile, widely circulated situation that was last night’s concert, it seems that West’s feminized attire didn’t quite catch on until now. Reactions ranged from positive to negative, with everyone from fans to celebrities weighing in. Even West’s better half Kim Kardashian opined, “Awwwwwwww I’m so excited right now!!!!! He looks so cute!!” But certainly, there were funnier quips to be found. Read below for a roundup of Twitter’s best reactions.

Forget Paul McCartney, the real hero last night at the Hurricane Sandy charity concert was Kanye West's skirt. yfrog.com/odt7dkxj
— Wonderland Magazine (@wonderlandmag) December 13, 2012

I love that @kanyewest went from pink popped collars to leggings and kilts in 10 years and he's still on top of the game
— Pete Metz (@PeteMetz88) December 13, 2012

Kanye West's skirt > Jake Gyllenhaal's beard no contest
— Ayesha A. Siddiqi (@pushinghoops) December 13, 2012

express yourself KANYE!!!! i would be happier if he wore this kilt without the jeans.
— † BENOIT(@claudeenBENOIT) December 13, 2012

We may not have Leonardo Da Vinci or Michaelangelo.... BUT WE HAVE KANYEWEST .
— Longgggggg Daddy D. (@SirMarcelin) December 13, 2012

UPDATE: To top Kanye West's skirt, Paul McCartney will come out in a bikini.
— Disalmanac (@Disalmanac) December 13, 2012

Kanye West in a black leather... SKIRT? I'm sure he'll tell you that's a kilt ;-) 121212concert.org
— Miles Maker(@milesmaker) December 13, 2012

Kanye West raided Kim Kardashians closet for his lovely leather skirt. #121212concert
— Spencer Graves (@SpencerGraves) December 13, 2012

If I was Kanye West I'd totally wear a skirt. But why no fishnets?
— Leo Martin (@leosoup) December 13, 2012

Let a regular dude on the street wear kilt he's getting roasted. Let Kanye wear a kilt it's considered to be "dope", "swag", "fashion". SMH
— Illuminαti Tyrεll (@Tahrell) December 13, 2012

My prob is not that Kanye's wearing a skirt, it's that he's wearing an ugly skirt. It does have a certain element of surprise tho I spose.
— Krystal Ball (@KrystalBall1) December 13, 2012

AND THE KICKER………..

Ok I admit it. I let kanye borrow my skirt.
— JARED LETO (@JaredLeto) December 13, 2012

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Misty White Sidell is a fashion correspondent for The Daily Beast.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

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