Kanye West makes fashion debut in Paris

PARIS: Rap star Kanye West -- a regular fashion show attendee -- staged his runway debut on Saturday night at an off-calendar event on the sidelines of Paris Fashion Week attended by Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Black and white dominated as West sent models out in leather zipped pants and black dresses with plunging rectangular necklines, while one of the most noted pieces in the spring-summer collection was a bulky backpack in fox fur.

Celebrities packed the long white room, part of a Paris high school, among them the Olsen sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley, both actresses-turned-designers, and Lindsay Lohan who recently tried her hand at designing for Ungaro.

But the mood was business-like despite the buzz surrounding West's first fashion steps, and the singer appeared for a brief bow at show's end dressed simply in grey jeans and white T-shirt with a trim beard.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011