Is brand Kanye West finally strong enough to survive the cut-throat world of fashion?

But look beyond the glitz and the front row of the New York Fashion Week launch (featuring Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and hip hop supremo Russell Simmons) and there is a more interesting story. Kanye West is an innovator who strives to find new ways of connecting with his audience.

Celebrity endorsement is one of the most powerful influencers when it comes to buying newly launched fashion wear with 20 per cent of 18-24 year old saying it is important, compared with nine per cent across all age groups. This group is also more influenced by social media with nine per cent saying it has an effect, compared with four per cent average, and they like what they like – 36 per cent buy new clothes similar to their existing favourites.

The human need that fashion fulfils is emotional rather than functional, so the launch needed to instil the product with as much value as possible. In this case the value comes from Kanye’s celebrity endorsement and the exclusivity of the limited edition Yeezy Boost trainers.

Kanye also debuted a new song called ‘Wolves’, so the launch wrapped up a clothing launch and new music, and promoted both brand Kanye and Adidas. With the music world changing hugely in the last decade, artists have to be innovative to get noticed and brand tie ups offer a new route to market.

An artist like Kanye hasn’t got a choice but to launch with this kind of fanfare – he has his own brand values to live up to. The launch was big, artistic and almost philosophical, and he can get away with it because he defines himself as a mould breaking artist.

Interestingly, it has been treated as a fashion launch, not a sports shoe launch which is also in keeping with Kanye’s world view of everything he does being art. The commerce side of the equation is taken care of by an Adidas app that makes it easy for people to reserve shoes.

Kanye’s last attempt at a fashion launch fell a bit flat, so this time he has pulled out all the stops. It’s a fashion launch, new music showcase, a shopping event and a moment of cultural engagement. He’s got all of the bases covered. No matter how sniffy some people may be, in Kanye’s world it’s better to be talked about than ignored.

Which is what Adidas risks being in this equation. It is almost the junior partner here, but ultimately the halo effect from Kanye and his zeitgeist-connecting launch will feed back to Adidas in the sort of indefinable brand cool that it’s hard to bottle. By stitching Kanye culture into its personality, it continues to be relevant and meaningful to his and its core audience.

Having seen his wife ‘break the internet’ with her own attention grabbing activities recently, Kanye has shown that when it comes to launches, being innovative can deliver real cut through. He has taken celebrity endorsement to the next level where he is creating content that fits into people’s lives, rather than just badging a product. It’s hard to ignore.

Jo White is managing director of Five by Five