Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour involves tons of lights, pyrotechnics, a mountain, an iceburg that raises up, priestesses in nude body suits, and Jesus, to name a few things. It also features Kanye in four different Maison Martin Margiela masks for about 80% of the show.
The masks (one mirrored, one bejeweled, one tiled, and one studded) serve two purposes: symbolism (hiding the true self, arrogance, etc.) and practicality (the masks give everyone in a large concert arena something to see. Without the mask, most in the audience wouldn’t be able to see facial features anyway.)
“The base of the masks is made of black silk gauze, a transparent material that allow models to see through it,” a Margiela spokesperson explained to Fashionista about the visibility. “It’s essential that this transparent material be in black and not white, because white becomes opaque.”
Towards the end of the show Kanye has a confrontation with “White Jesus,” who humbles him a bit, and he finally takes off his mask.
Jesus didn’t humble Yeezus too much, though. In an interview with Atlanta radio station V103 Kanye bragged about wearing the masks for most of the show. “People just saw me perform for 80 percent of my show without seeing my face and they’re like, ‘We paid all this money to see him and he ain’t show his face for 80 percent and we still cool with that.’ That’s some Gemini sh*t right there,” he said before listed a bunch of other talented Gemini signs. “That’s some like, Prince, Lauryn Hill, 3000, Pac, Biggie Smalls, Miles Davis, Kanye West, Gemini sh*t.”
