The Daily Beast: Will.i.am, Fashion Designer?

For Newsweek/The Daily Beast, I wrote about Will.i.am's collaboration with Japanese designer, Rynshu. From my article, "The singer met Masatomo Yamaji, the designer of the Japanese brand Rynshu, after filming the music video for “Can’t Get Enough” in Tokyo in March 2011, when he stumbled into the shop with a few of his band members. Captivated by the clothes, Will.i.am requested an on-the-spot meeting with the designer. Instantly, the pair hit it off—so much so that four months later Will.i.am walked in Rynshu’s June 2011 runway show in Paris. “I attended a number of shows, and this is the one show where I was inspired to walk the runway because of the outfit Rynshu created for me to wear,” Will.i.am told The Daily Beast by phone. “Rynshu is the coolest Japanese guy I’ve ever met. He’s an amazingly talented designer.” That first encounter has flourished into a fruitful (and barely publicized) fashion collaboration between the two men, which is now in its third season."