Kanye west's fans queue for hours to buy his $636 Yeezy boots and $235 T-shirts

Kanye West fans splurged up to $4,000 each after waiting for five hours to get their hands on his Yeezy fashion range - and claimed it was a 'blessing' handed down by the rapper.

Fashionistas as young as 15 spent $636 on a single pair of boots with one man grabbing one for him and one for his girlfriend.

Waiting to get Kanye's gear made them late for work and late for school but they said that it was 'worth it' - even at such a high price.

At Barney's on Madison Avenue in New York customers had to line up in the pouring rain on Wednesday night to get a wristband to let them queue again today. 

Some 14 police officers and seven security guards stood watching as they queued from 5am for the Yeezy shoes and layered basics in neutral tones.

When their turn came they were led round the side of the building there their IDs were checked off against a list of names.

The collection, officially dubbed Adidas Originals x Kanye West Yeezy Season 1, was launched at 10am Eastern at Barneys stores across the US.

Most people wanted the Men's Yeezy 950 Boots, which cost $585 and come in brown or black, and the women's version which costs $636 and comes in light grey.

Others were after the $235 camouflage t-shirt, the fur Hood Jacket which is $3,150 and a thermal shirt, which cost $340.

Sean Scott, 26, a hip hop artist, was first in the line and said he planned to spend around $500 on a pair of Yeezy 950 boots.

Sean said: 'They are comfortable and I like the colors and the hues. Colors and hues are two different things; colors are solid and hues are translucent.

'Tiffany blue, olive green and tan; they are neutral and you can do so much with them. If you have a shoe with neutral colors you can do anything.'

Asked about the high price he said: 'Most upscale designers like Roberto Cavalli aren't cheap. It's just the price you have to pay.'

Friends Tahiem Robinson, 20, and H&M worker, William Payne, 26, a parks program leader at a school, and Kayshaun Jamison, 30, were near the front of the queue and said they were after the boots too.

William said that he was late for work and was missing a lesson with preschoolers to be in the queue.

He said: 'You just have to queue up for these things. That's the way it is.'

Jamison added: 'You can wear the boots every day. It doesn't make sense to spend $500 on a jacket or a shirt or a sweater.'

Christian Leyba, 20, and friend Damien Anthony, 19, got up at 5am to get to the store and join the line.

They had already each bought a pair of $200 Yeezy 350 boots and wanted more from Kanye's collection.

Christian, a student electrician, said he only wanted to spent $230 on a camouflage t-shirt because he wanted to save some money for the H&M Balmain collection, which is out next week.

He said: 'I like the way the arms fit on the clothes. It has a nice draped look and I like oversized clothes. I'm also interested in the shoes.'

Damien, an accounting student, said: 'I like the way the clothes fit. I have always loved Kanye's music and then he did clothes. I think he is pushing fashion forward and making it more street.

'The shoes look like something an astronaut would wear.'

In the end Damien was the only one of the pair to buy anything and spent $255 on the camouflage t-shirt. There was only one in size small and he offered to share it with Christian.

Adam Zeldin, 28, a software consultant, waited two and a half hours in line before leaving the queue because he was fed up with the wait.

He spent the time working on his laptop with the computer perched on a barricade.

He said: 'This was not a luxury clothing experience. They did not sort the line, they did not even bring us water.'

Jack, 15, who declined to give his surname, said: 'I plan to spend about $2,000.

'I'm mostly after the boots. If Kanye blesses something then it sells out. These clothes are a blessing to me'.

Jack added that his mother had let him go to school late that day so he could get what he wanted.

Roberto Graham, 28, who works in fashion store Supreme, bought two pairs of Yeezy boots for $1,200. He said: 'I'm getting one for me and one for my girlfriend.

'Air Jordans are cool for teenagers but these are for people into fashion'.

One man left and got into a taxi with two pairs of shoes and two bags of clothes. He said that he had spent $4,000 and that it was 'worth it'.

Kanye fans will have to wait until next year to get hold of his second collection, Yeezy 2, which has proved even more controversial than the first.

The clothes shocked the fashion world and led to some ridiculing Kanye for their extreme design which some likened to costumes from The Walking Dead or impoverished citizens in The Hunger Games.

The clothes ranged from skin tight vests and leggings to shapeless sweaters.

All the items were in neutral tones such as army green and black, though the majority were pale nude tones that were nearly see through.

One critic Tweeted: 'Kanye west's new fashion line is actual concentration camp. Actual.'

Others wrote: 'I thought Kanye is a fashion God...but this line of his is garbage' and another said: 'I don't get it lol like why are they rags'.

This week Kanye revealed that the inspiration behind the clothing line was his $4.5m New York city apartment designed by Claudio Silvestrin, his favourite architect.

The 200 square meter Manhattan loft is decked out in French limestone and pear wood and pairs high end luxury with natural minimalism.

Kanye said when he designed Yeezy II he was interested in the 'importance of color' and the 'Zen, monochrome' style of his apartment.

'I've stayed in a Claudio Silvestrin apartment since I was 26, and I love those types of palettes and that's my opinion,' he said in a Vanity Fair interview.

Separately three sneakers from Yeezy Season 1, the hi-top Yeezy Boost 750, and the Yeezy Boost 350 in two colors, have already been released and sold out,.

A tan version is due to go on sale on November 14.

Source: Daily Mail