Kanye West's fashion collection inspired by London riots

Kanye West's latest fashion collection was partly inspired by the London riots of 2011.

The rapper was living in the U.K. capital when violence erupted across the city and he saw reports of clashes with police, arson attacks and looting, which later spread to other areas of the country.

West is convinced many of the rioters were driven to looting because they could not afford high-end clothes, so he was inspired to design more affordable pieces as part of his collaboration with sports brand Adidas, which he unveiled at New York Fashion Week on Thursday (12Feb15).

The Stronger hitmaker tells Style.com, "A major influence was the London riots because I was living in London at that time and saw the way that the kids wanted the clothes and I didn't have the skill set to do the more inexpensive clothes... Now I have a team of really, really great designers.

"I believe there's some information in (fashion) that can help people have better lives. And it's being held and blocked and not given to the people. So this is very much a Robin Hood approach that I have to making clothes."

West's latest clothing collection was hit with a slew of scathing reviews, with some critics comparing his designs to outfits seen in animated kids show The Flintstones and "clothing a homeless person would wear after the apocalypse".