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It's February 2015. At the intersection of Broadway and Fifth in Midtown Manhattan,

there's a stage glowing in candy-colored hues of neon, red and blue, pulsing like a monster-sized slushy machine.

That's what comes to mind anyway because it's cold.

Beyond cold, the kind of bone-numbing New York cold that keeps sane people inside,

sheltered from the evil wind ripping off the East River.

But there's nothing sane about New York Fashion Week is there, and this is night two of the

most important week of the year for everything Kutur. And now it's about to get even crazier.

Word has it that the biggest hip-hop artist in the world is about to make an appearance,

climbing onto this rainbow-colored launching pad in the shadow of the Flat Iron Building,

standing room only. And if you miss it, well, you may miss out on a New York moment that will

never happen again. That fear, fear of missing out, has been enough for some to wait in line all day

for the chance to see something electric the icy cold be damned. And then, a little after ten,

it happens. He emerges as if from nowhere in a black hoodie, black pants, black shoes,

and very white, fingerless gloves. Mike, in one hand, a halo of oscillating lights circles the

silhouette of Kanye West as he leaps on to the front of the stage. He performs a brand-new song

of his called Fade as a cadre of dancers and rappers join him on stage.

Then something unusual happens, really unusual. Instead of moving on to the next set of beats,

Kanye starts shouting to the crowd, like really hollering until his voice starts to go horse.

We ain't even going to mention that other company no more, right? We ain't wearing that other

company no more, right? The audience looks around, confused. Do they have any idea what Kanye's

talking about? The diehard sneaker fans, the sneaker heads, they do. Until recently, Kanye West

...