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Kanye West’s wife has become somewhat of a living mannequin. But her controversial clothing is raising questions around autonomy and the politics of the female body.
Bianca Censori was relatively unknown when she began dating, then quickly married rapper Kanye West. The Australian architect and model has since become a public spectacle, known for her provocative outfits and bold red carpet stunts – most recently appearing almost nude on the Grammys red carpet.
The pair paint a disquieting picture, with Censori rarely caught straying from her husband’s side. In most cases, West storms ahead – fully clothed – while Censori follows in minimal clothing.
From tiny bralets to tights and even a pillow, her outfits have made headlines for their relative lack of existence. And the discourse around her fashion choices has only grown more divisive as the nature of her relationship with West appears to take a somewhat troubling turn.
Polyester’s Ione Gamble lays out the argument that Censori’s clothes are rooted in fetish and club wear, breaking the fourth wall of social media by inhabiting public spaces that aren’t conventionally associated with these genres of fashion.
But following the Grammys stunt, in which Censori removed virtually all of her clothing in front of cameras – seemingly at the request of her husband – many have asked where we draw the line between artistic provocation and downright coercion.
The question is ultimately whether Censori is an autonomous individual expressing herself through each audacious look, or whether she’s a pawn in the curation of her husband’s public image, controlled at every opportunity and forced to behave in ways she wouldn’t willingly consent to.
It’s a complex conversation, and one which doesn’t invite easy answers.
But central to the question of Censori’s body is the notable presence of West’s, and the highly politicised context in which both exist.
‘Her outfits can be looked at objectively as a fashion statement if [West] had no hand in styling them and if [he wasn’t] always there fully clothed next to her. His presence contextualises the whole thing differently,’ wrote one Instagram user.
West has a well-documented history of controlling behavior towards his partners. His past relationships – including his highly publicized marriage to Kim Kardashian – often revealed a man deeply invested in dictating how the women in his life dress and present themselves.
