It looks like Kanye is gearing up to drop his much anticipated clothing and accessories line Pastelle. Images from the collection hit the web last night on Swagger Dap. The three leaked images of the collection are pretty cool, but not what we were hoping (or expecting) to see from Mr. West, but again it’s only three photos. We know Kanye is holding the good stuff for the big launch — right?! We hope :)

From High Snobiety:
UPDATE: Earlier today we posted some images from the long-rumored Pastelle by Kanye West collection. Although pieces have been seen worn by Kanye West during several public appearances (such as the 2008 AMA Awards), Pastelle will never be released. That’s right. We’ve received official word that Pastelle will not be coming out. Ever. That said, Kanye West will release a collection under his own name in the near future. Stay tuned.

“Let up the suicide doors. This is my life homey, you decide yours.” – Can’t Tell Me Nothing

… and out from the ego creeps a voice of reason. A liaison for personal justice; an inspiration to help silence the negativity and continual bullsh*t, that could possibly curb your path towards garnering personal success. When it comes to Kanye’ West and his overstated ego, amidst what some would consider a blinding arrogance, rests a dedicated soldier who went from dreams to reality and onto a Graduation of excellence even when his critics thought he couldn’t do it and opted to push him not to try.

For most musicians, art surely imitates life. So when it comes to Kanye’ West and his music, most of it serves as a personal testimony to his walk through the struggle to go his own way- from a self proclaimed college dropout and onto a multimillion dollar media impresario.

“Old folks talking bout back in my day, but homey this is my day.” - Can’t Tell Me Nothing

Anytime you go against the grain, the opinions of the world always line up to dish a bit of criticism in your direction pertaining to your will to make personal choices. For most of us budding entrepreneurs, writer’s, dreamers, musicians, or jacks of all trades, quite like Kanye’ West many years ago before he copped a deal, it can be hard to sift through the scrutiny and negativity, when you wish to be blessed with unconditional support and understanding.

“When it feels like harder than dyin’, for me givin’ up’s way harder than tryin’”. – Champion

Life in itself can be a challenge for a lot of people when it comes to fighting off our inner critic. We already expect a lot from ourselves, so the last thing one ever needs is someone else working to bring them down or darken their rose colored vision. Anyone who ever set out with a plan knows that the road will be full of bumps and hurdles. The easy part is getting behind the wheel. The challenge is going the distance and staying the relentless path.

Rather than listening to the harmonic praises from your peers when giving your business plan a healthy try, you can sometimes get caught between the vocal throes of dream killers and passion extinguishers. For them it’s either right or left; their way or the highway. They don’t see the beauty in walking in between the lines.

“You see, if you ever wanted to ever be anything, there’d always be somebody there to shoot down any dream. There’ll always be haters, that’s the way it is.” – Bring Me Down

Life gets harder when your support system challenges the esteem behind your passion. Negativity is the perfect poison to kill a beating heart engulfed in a tangible dream. If your surrounded by a watchful scrutiny or the suffocating comments behind an endless stream of other peoples opinions, it can steal the breath from a lifelong passion and cause your confident stature to wilt into a garden of personal suicide. Of course the dream in itself will always be mentally blooming, but after being cultivated by the weeds of negativity, its growth gets hindered and then your dream loses its beauty and never blossoms to its greatness even after your winter has faded and gone. If enough people tell you that your plan is waste of time, over time you may begin think that your plan doesn’t deserve another second of time to waste in it.

Dream killers…

“I’m a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph, make music that’s fire, spit my soul through the wire.”- Through the Wire

When you think of Kanye’ West and compare his drive and dedication to your own path towards success, you can easily pick up a will to stay the storm even if the world continues to test your strength and ability. The critics of the world couldn’t stop Kanye’ West from pursuing a career as a rapper, and even a car accident couldn’t end the life of a promising dream.

Motivation comes from a number of places, so when I’m trying to drown out the opinions of the world pertaining to my own plan in life, I fill my ears with a soundtrack that can inspire me towards greatness not the clashing melody of the “You’re wasting your time,” song. For some of us you don’t even need an MP3 player to tune into the madness, the deafening noise behind your dreams worst enemy might reside around the corner or as close as the next room.

So, for people who are on the same path in life, that Kanye’ West was on and need motivation to keep them going the distance while in pursuit of their own dreams, living a day plugged into The College Dropout, Late Registration, or Graduation could give you that extra steam needed to drive your goal from a mere thought and into a positive conclusion.

“Last year shoppin my demo, I was tryin to shine. Every motherf*cker told me that I couldn’t rhyme. Now I could let these dream killers, kill my self-esteem. Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams. I use it as my gas, so they say that I’m gassed. But without it I’d be last, so I ought to laugh.” - Last Call

Sure, we all have our opinions on Mr. West, and that can be easily addressed in another article. But when it comes to the words he spits so cleverly that ride politely over every orchestrated beat, his attitude fades into the backdrop, and his lyrics serve as a motivational accelerant to ignite that extra fire that burns in the soul of every dreamer. If you listen carefully to his lyrics, they surely don’t go by unnoticed, rather they serve as an inspiration for others who need a guiding light to bring them out of the pressure driven world of other people’s expectations.

My teacher said I’s a loser, I told her why don’t you kill me, I give a f*ck if you fail me, I’m gonna follow my heart.” - Get ‘Em High

The great thing in life about being an individual is that you’re allowed to follow your own path even if at first others criticize you for opting to go down that different road. The most important thing to remember with any dream, is that it can only be killed by another if you give it away. Hold it tight and believe and don’t allow anyone to sway your confidence.

Tyra Banks is a beautiful, powerful, levelheaded business woman and TV Mogul. Kanye’ West is a flashy, eccentric, intellectual, music impresario. They’re both working their way up the ladder of entertainment success, but they’re easily eclipsed by their many differences. Tyra is cheap when it comes to spending money, and when it comes to Kanye’ West, sky’s the limit. But the heart isn’t as observant when you’re already in love.

Love, is most definitely a many splendored thing, but so is matchmaking and heartbreaking in the world of mis-compatibility. “It ain’t fiction, just a natural fact… opposites attract.” There’s always a hidden love that rests in the arms of the extremely unlikely.

So… This is a possibility that resides at the intersection of the infamous “42nd Street and Happenstance.”

Ruby Red Sneakers.
Over burdened by the price tags that loomed over the many collections that were showcased during New York Fashion Week, Tyra Banks swept through the crowd of mesmerized observers to make a break for the empty bargains aisles at Saks 5th Avenue. Usually known for her agility and honing runway skills quite like the infamous Miss Jay, she somehow managed to lose her footing in her Christian Louboutin suede boots, and melded her security with the embarrassment that met her on the floor.

It was a graceful fall, no doubt a perfect ten. But apart from graciously kneeling to the floors proclaimed victory, she was now surrounded by the flashing lights of a hundred paparazzi cameras. The array of bulbs flickering in her face were coupled by the snickers from a sea of bystanders who had turned their gaze to meet the abrupt commotion that had interrupted their fashion show.

Shaken by her clumsiness and retreating into a shell of doubt and hesitation, she gathered her thoughts on the floor before she embarked upon the journey to regain her proper composure. When she looked into the sneering crowd, all she could see in front of her were two shiny ruby red sneakers…

“Dorothy?” She uttered, shaking her head at the ridiculous idea.

“Bow in the presence of greatness,” the man spoke as his fingers interlocked around her hand to help her up.

“I’m sorry Kanye’ West. I must’ve hit my head when I fell.” She said finally realizing who he was behind his lime green jacket and yellow and black striped jeans.

“Flashing Lights…” he corrected her. She scratched her head at his response trying to figure out why he was speaking in song lyrics, and then nodded as she remembered the camera’s documenting her moment of shame.

“Thanks for helping me up Ye’ to the,” She said, “That’s was nice. I owe you one. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay you for the favor of being my helping hand this afternoon.”

“Let’s get lost tonight, you can be my black Kate Moss tonight. Play secretary, I’m the boss tonight,” he replied, kissing her hand as he walked her through the crowd of people.

“You know, I’m flattered, but I’m Tyra Banks,” she reminded him, “I don’t really need to play a black Kate Moss, I’ve made quite a name for myself in the same field, I’ll have you know. If you aren’t aware, let me enlighten you. I’m the first African American model to grace the cover of GQ, Sports Illustrated and Victoria Secret. I also have a talk show, a popular TV show I’m sure you’ve heard of called America’s Next Top Model, and I even have a song that created a small stir in the club scene called “Shake Ya Body.”

He didn’t budge an inch as she ran off her list of amazing accomplishments. He just paused in time to look her up and down. Never changing the blank expression on his face he finally stated, “I’m going to be bigger than Elvis.”

“Well… then we should have coffee,” she smiled as she batted her eyes at him. “ We have a lot in common. I’m going to be bigger than Oprah.”

Finally cracking a smile, he pulled her body in closer, and together hand in hand they eased on down through the doors towards the road of possibility.

The Take Over.
Always striking out in the love department, but finally able to meet the call of her hearts desire, she kneeled to its mercy and chose to let love in. She took a chance on the unlikely and quickly became “Mrs. Kanye’ to the…”

They were an unlikely pair, but were both determined to be the greatest in every field of entertainment. They became the newest power couple to send an earthquake through the playing fields of young Hollywood. Even at the early stages of their puppy love partnership, they were already surpassing the popularity of Brad and Angelina, Will and Jada or even Tom and Katie.

Both, always affixed on the next best thing, they put their minds together to determine the perfect course of action to shatter the doors of Universe City. Tyra took her talk show to late night television, and quickly garnered the ratings popularity, putting both Jay Leno and David Letterman out of a job soon after. She then started a clothing company called Cheap Chic, putting her best friends clothing lines Baby Phat and House of Deréon quickly off the market.

Kanye’ bought Death Row Records giving the gangsta rap label a new futuristic/techno sound coining new hits like “Thug Spaceship” and the “Ghetto Robot.” With the money he made from such a genius venture, he swallowed Def Jam, Jive, and Sony Records and somehow was able to convince all the artists under his labels to make the last track on every one of their albums, include a duet with Tyra Banks in order to reprise her singing career. After that he bought the rights to the Vocoder Box, quickly putting T-Pain and several of his competition out of business.

Even though the two were connecting through their need to climb higher, the closer Kanye grew to Tyra, the more his health was becoming an issue.

Having had clear skin his entire life, somehow in his 30’s he was now riddled with severe acne or what the dermatologist suggested was Adult Onset Cystic Acne, the cause still being unknown.

The Emergence of Dr. Evil.
“Come on baby, come get some breakfast before you go to your ProActiv Solution Infomercial spot, you don’t want to be late.” Tyra yelled from the kitchen.

“I bought the company last night, I got time. I’m making up the bed.” He yelled.

A few seconds passed by, and then a scream came from the bedroom, which was quickly followed by…

“Tyra, I need to speak to you,” Kanye screeched. “Now.”

As Tyra sauntered towards the room, already estimating an attack, she tried to keep her emotions in check in order to give him a fair chance to talk. When she came around the corner, he was scratching his acne with one hand and holding up the pillowcase with the other.

“Martha Stewart Living?” he cried as he threw down the pillowcase. “ I exclusively sleep on Egyptian Silk, I know I told you that.”

“I know baby, but they were on sale at K-mart, and I didn’t think you would really notice the difference,” she murmured, “Let alone ever make up the bed.”

“K-mart? Welcome to the Goodlife! Now I, I go for mine, I got to shine…” he started muttering.

Tyra threw her hands up in the sky and walked out of the room.

“I need a drink baby, can you get me one. I feel so… weak now.” Kanye’ hollered from the bedroom. “Cristal, please.”

Tyra walked into kitchen and realized it had been a while since she had spent money on that expensive drink, so she reached high onto the top shelf where Kanye never looked. She pulled down a bottle of Wild Irish Rose and began pouring its contents into the empty Cristal bottle he had left in the fridge. She had been doing it for so long, she began to think Kanye’ could no longer tell the difference between cheap wine and expensive champagne.

Interrupted by an angry Kanye’ who was now standing in the kitchen doorway watching her every move, she stopped what she was doing and tried to hide the Wild Irish Rose bottle behind her back hoping that Kanye hadn’t really seen it.

“How could you be so Dr. Evil…”Kanye’ screamed as he walked into the room holding up her Louis Vuitton purse and exposing a label that simple said ‘Made in Minnesota.’

Before Tyra could defend herself about her Canal Street Louis V, he caught onto what she was doing with the Champagne bottle and ran over and grabbed the Wild Irish Rose out of her hand.

“How could you be so heartless.” He cried as his knees weakened and he dropped to the ground.

Tyra was not able to get a word out to save her relationship, because in a matter of seconds, The Louis Vuitton Don had passed out on the kitchen floor clutching a fake purse and a bottle of cheap wine in the other hand with a Martha Stewart Pillowcase tucked under his arm.

After long, the EMT’s were there to carry Kanye’ out on a stretcher and he asked that Tyra not be allowed in the hospital. In a matter of hours just from being away from the house his skin cleared up and he became instantly better. The doctor finally had a diagnosis, he’s allergic to anything cheap, and Tyra just can’t resist a great bargain.

But that’s how it is on 42nd Street and Happenstance…

So after a few swills of Cristal courtesy of someone else’s champagne bottle in V.I.P (while they weren’t looking, mind you), and before I was reluctantly escorted out the club for sneaking past security to make my way towards all the ballers and celebrities, I began to ponder… and as I started to feel a lil’ tipsy, my thoughts progressed to what I knew could be my reality. Next thing you know I’m lying in my bed in an aviator shade induced dream, looking through the window of my ray bans envisioning an 808 and Heartbreaks Destiny. Kanye as my man? Here’s the top 10 reasons why he should be…

1. He’s college educated.
Sure, he was once a College Dropout, but he made it back in time regardless of the Late Registration, and eventually copped that Magna Cum Laude position when he crossed the threshold unto “Stadium Status,” on that faithful Graduation day.

2. He works a 9 to 5.
Or a 6 to 2, or 4 to 12. Hell, he’s got a steady job bringing home a paycheck. Need I say more? The only thing you need to support him in is his unique fashion sense, rather than personally funding his musical dream. Which leads me to the next point…

3) He’s a sharp dressed man
He’s sharp all right, sometimes too slick for even me to handle. But you’ve got to love a man who’s not afraid to take risks even if that means bringing back the Members Only Jacket from 1983. Can you say, “Thriller, Thriller Night…” Get ‘em ‘Ye!

4) He’s confident in his manhood.
There’s nothing wrong with a man staying fresh, groomed and sitting in the front of row during New York City’s Fashion Week to keep up on his style profiling. A man who is secure within himself wants to look good for his woman and that takes a little dedication, right? I mean let’s face it ladies, who wants to date a man that our girlfriends don’t secretly want? But don’t get ahead of yourself though. We’ve already established that ‘Ye is mine.

5) He’s “book learned.”
Yes Ladies, not only does Mr. West have an appetite for reading and writing blogs via his Kanyeuniversecity.com website, but this genius has packaged all that intellectual-sexy in a co-authored book entitled Thank You and You’re Welcome. That’ll probably make for a good bedtime story, if you know what I mean.

6) He’s in touch with his emotions.
Deriving the entire 808’s and Heartbreaks album from the pain after the death of his mother as well as his history of relationship heartbreaks, is far better than being with a man who’s idea of sharing his emotions is done through purposeful mistakes and sorry excuses. “ I’m sorry baby, you know I’m under a lot stress, if I wasn’t you know I wouldn’t have ” Um, yeah right.

7) He’s Unique.
Any man black man that can get cut with the ‘Hawk and not come off looking like a shoddy Mr. T, can hold my attention. Let’s face it, when Cam’ron came out rocking the pinks and pastels, didn’t you get tired of seeing everybody else’s man braving up to express their inner pink? Exactly. Now who do you think is really running out to grab a fro-hawk-mullet? Only my ‘Ye!

8) He’s Sexy.
As quoted in Vibe Magazine, “I definitely feel like, in the next however many years, if I work out for two months, that I’ll pose naked.” Listen Kanye, you don’t have to wait until you’ve been in the gym to disrobe, with a couple Flashing Lights and some Stronger shades everybody has potential to look good in the dark. Get ‘em sexy.

9) “You ain’t messing wit no broke N**GA.”
He ranked #27 on Forbes Top 100 list of most powerful celebrities. After copping a total of $42,552,402 in 2008, I think it’s safe to say that you’d be set for life. But listen, ‘I ain’t saying you a Gold Digga…”

10) You’d inherit a cool nickname.
Who wants to be a boring old “Bragelina,” or a “Bennifer,” or the ever unimpressive “TomKat,” when you can be “Mrs. Kanye To the…” or “Mrs. Louis Vuitton Don” or the latest installment, “Mrs. Martin Louis The King, Jr”. Which ever you prefer, at least you’ll have your place in Kanye West’s Universe City. “Wake Up Mrs. West.”

Q: So Alexis, you did your first ever runway show, the debut of the Ghita line, last September. What was that experience like?
It was my first fashion show, but I wasn’t nervous. I felt like I put forth a really good effort for what I had to work with. I just rolled with it and it was really fun and exciting working with Mark Seliger. I thought that was a huge honor for the first time around, so I’m just looking forward to having more shows and getting better and better.

Q: You seem to have a very strong design point of view. Would you say that Ghita is a reflection of your personal style or who do you imagine wearing your clothing?
Well, for right now most of my influences are my friends. Most of my friends are either stylists or designers who are involved with fashion in some way. A lot of pieces in my collection are made with a specific person in mind, but we all have individual styles so I just try to make clothing that will compliment everyone’s figure and try to get a different point of view other than just what I like—even though I ultimately end up liking everything that I make.

Q: What are you currently inspired by?
I just finished Fall ‘08 so now I’m working on having another fashion show in September for spring; the way fashion is right now there are so many different things going on. There’s a rock influence, there’s a religious influence, there’s a hippie influence. So that’s what I’m going to incorporate for spring next season, these mini collections that pick up on all of the different trends.

Q: You attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in L.A. and now you’ve started your own line. We always see photos of you at all the major fashion the shows. Is it safe to say that fashion has always been something that you’ve loved?
Yes, I’ve always loved it and it’s been the only thing that I’ve ever wanted to do. I was lucky enough to make it happen.

Q: Since you are known for being so stylish, do you feel any additional pressure in your role as a designer? Do you feel like people expect more from you and do you welcome that challenge?Yeah, I welcome the challenge, but I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I continue to wear what I like, wear what’s flattering and have fun while doing it. If I put too much pressure on myself then it becomes not fun anymore. I just like to have fun with it and be experimental and not be afraid to make mistakes.

Q: We of course love your personal style and you always seem to be so effortlessly put together. One of our readers described your style as “immaculate”. Can you share a bit about your favorite designers and shopping destinations?
Awwww. Oh yeah! Well, my favorite designer is Ricardo Tisci, he’s a designer for Givenchy. I love Nicolas Ghesquiere, he’s a designer for Balenciaga and I love Alber Elbaz, he’s a designer for Lanvin. Those are my favorite designers right now. I’m just so impressed with how focused their designs are and how much effort goes into it. As far as shopping, I’ll usually hit up stores like H&M and Zara. I think it’s really important to have nice shoes, so I like to splurge on shoes and handbags. Neiman Marcus in one of my favorite stores. I love Balmaine and Colette in Paris.

Q: What are a few of your fashion and beauty must haves? What are things that you don’t like to leave the house without?
A great fitting pair of jeans. I’m aways cold, so I like to keep a scarf with me which is cool because scarves are in right now. Lipgloss and water are also good things to have on hand.

Q: It seems like you have a lot going on in your office today. So what is a typical day like for you? Or is there any such thing as a typical day?
It’s always different, but my day generally involves coming in checking on our accounts to make sure that our shipments are out, make sure that we’re getting paid, working on sourcing new fabrics daily while running back and forth to the grader and patternmaker. Those things generally remain the same everyday.

Q: What is your ultimate goal for the line? Do you plan on expanding into other product categories? What can we expect from Ghita for upcoming seasons?
Well, starting with spring ‘09 I’m expanding to jumpsuits, shorts and pants for more of a full line as opposed to a dress line. I think the dress line was a good way to start and get recognition because a lot of people don’t just have a dress line. Also, being an influential designer is a major goal.

Q: So when you’re not busy designing what are some of the things you like to do?
I love the Food Network. I’m always watching the Food Network, but that’s a whole separate thing! I think that could be my next career, to be a Chef. I like to spend time with my son and the people I love. I like to go to the movies, go the beach, ride bikes . . . that kind of stuff.

Q: You seem to have a really good balance within all of the different aspects of your life. How have you managed to achieve that?
You know, you just have to take it one day and situation at a time. You have to devote as much time to something when you’re in that moment and don’t worry about the rest. Try not to get tired and discouraged and maintain a positive attitude. That’s really important.

Q: Ok. One last question, so you’re headed out for a night on the town with the girls or whomever, what’s in your fabulous Clutch? Hmm. Great lipgloss and my I.D.

For more information on Alexis and Ghita please visit www. ghitafashion.com

Anyone who thinks that Alexis Phifer merely serves as Kanye West’s arm candy should take a closer look. Turns out that Ms. Phifer, who attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, may have been doing more than just sitting pretty at the couple’s recent appearances at the fall fashion shows. Perhaps she was looking for inspiration-designer inspiration that is.

Filled with frocks that appear to be light as air Phifer’s clothing line, Ghita, made its official debut during New York’s spring fashion week late last year. Her creative use of proportion and fit, a sorbet-neon color palette and intricate details like paneling and ruching result in an eye catching femme fatale aesthetic that’s just what a girl needs to maintain her sophisticated cool during the warmer months to come. We’re clearly fans of her work and delighted to know that the woman who’s engaged to an entertainer with a world famous swagger has a little swagger of her own.

To learn more about Ghita or to view past collections visit www.ghitafashion.com