Andre 3000 recently saluted Kanye West and Pharrell Williams for their respective successes in the fashion business after revealing that his own ready-to-wear line, Benjamin Bixby, cost him millions and still failed. During a panel at ComplexCon, recorded in part by W magazine, he revealed the expensive lessons he learned about starting a brand, the level of financial investment required to make such an endeavor work, and how Kanye’s rants about opening doors in the fashion world were more right than wrong.
Kanye’s rants about his struggles to break into the clothing business are well-known and nearly legendary. He’s spoken at length about the need for investment and backing from more established designers, a sentiment Andre echoed during his chat. “I was like, ‘Let me take this. Let me not get an investor,'” Andre said. “So all of it was me. My own money. Unfortunately, I️ lost millions, to be honest. It was an expensive lesson. But I can tell you, it was the best times, the best lessons in my life about my self and creating things… Kanye is passionate about what he’s doing. Now when I see Kanye rant I totally understand. If you lose millions trying to do it, it’s a funny thing.”
He also spoke about meeting Kanye and Pharrell backstage at a joint concert while on a trip to Hong Kong visiting showrooms, and how the three inspired each other in their pursuit of success in fashion. “I just wanted to prove to everyone that this was for real. I was going to Paris to fabric showrooms. I️ remember we were in Hong Kong, and I was there working for a month, and I️ saw a flyer for a performance that was N.E.R.D. and Kanye West. So I went to the show and I saw Kanye and Pharrell backstage. They were like, ‘What you doing here?’ And I️ was like, ‘I’m trying to make this clothing thing happen.’ Now when I️ see Kanye and Pharrell killing it, they’ve both opened doors. It’s a beautiful thing.”
It’s too bad that Benjamin Bixby never took off. It appears that the dapper brand was just too ahead of its time, as newer artists such as Jidenna have had some success recreating the gentlemanly look Andre espoused long before it was cool. The classics never really go out of style, but the purveyors sometimes just run out of money.
