Welcome to the Kanye show - Yeezy part three.

What went down at New York's Madison Square Gardens last night was pure West - silly, self-absorbed but completely compelling.

Say what you will about the self-professed 'God' of the second or third coming (we lose track), but the guy certainly knows how to put on a performance.

Having caused quite a kerfuffle last season when he plonked his show onto the NYFW schedule last minute, forcing numerous other designers to shift theirs for fear of West stealing all the limelight (a very valid fear), Kanye decided to pluck for the eve of Fashion Week this time.

He also didn't go for your average fashion show formula. This wasn't just a showcase for his third Yeezy collection, it was a also listening party for his new album, The Life Of Pablo (Picasso, in case you're wondering). 

The tickets were sold to the general public, most of whom we can assume cared more about the music than the clothes, but nevertheless he made an valid effort in the sartorial arena.

For starters, there was Naomi Campbell rocking a ribbed black body stocking and that's never going to disappoint, is it?

The Kardashian-Jenner clan were all in attendance too, clad in Yeezy's holey knitwear and heavily embellished, admittedly beautiful pieces created exclusively for them, in collaboration with Balmain's Olivier Rousteing, who was also in the audience. 

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The Yeezy collection - the usual artsy athleisure West had become know for - was modelled by a clutch of models, surrounded by others in thrift store-bought clothes dyed in keeping with the collection's rusty, earthy palette. All were subject to a lol-tactic list of rules set by Kanye. 'Loosen up no stiffness/do not be casual' read two of the oxymoronic must-dos. 

One model, rapper Young Thug, did get a bit casual though and appeared to nod off mid-show (below). #thuglife. Others gave the Black Power salute.

Kanye also, of course, took the time to say his piece. His latest ambition? He wants to be the creative director of Hermes 'for at least a couple of years', which explains a recent picture of a mouth covered with an Hermes label, with the caption '2017?', posted to his account. You've got to admire that chutzpah. 

The event was also used to showcase a new video game, Only One, the concept of which is based around his late mother, Donda, passing through the gates of heaven (below).

And just in case all of that wasn't enough to get him millions of column inches today, Lamar Odom made his first public appearance since his near-fatal, much-documented overdose, sitting alongside ex-wife Khloe and the rest of her family, who duly sang along to all of West's new songs. That what family's for.

IMAGES: GETTY

WORDS: BIBBY SOWRAY